India to review and assess the impact of US reciprocal tariff: MoS Finance

India will review and assess the impact of reciprocal tariffs, said Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary on Thursday, reacting to the 27 per cent tariffs on Indian export to the US.

Talking to reporters in the national capital, New Delhi, Union Minister of State for Finance Chaudhary said, “For Donald Trump, it’s America First, and for Modi ji, it’s India First. We will analyse it first, then assess its impact and see how to deal with it.”

Earlier, industry body ASSOCHAM president Sanjay Nayar said that India would be less impacted and the industry would now need to game up on efficiency.

“Looking at the tariffs, I think we are not as badly impacted. The tariff number looks steep, but when you look at it relative to other Southeast Asian countries, it looks better. I think there will be a major re-alignment of intra-Asia trade, supply chains. It will all take time. Given that pharma is exempt, we would be relatively less impacted, and it is incumbent upon our industry now to up the game on efficiency…India will have to think about how to give the US much bigger access to our market as well,” she said.

On April 2, US President Trump announced a widespread imposition of tariffs on countries worldwide. In February, soon after taking charge for the second time, Trump outlined a new trade policy focused on fairness and reciprocity and said that the US would implement reciprocal tariffs, charging other countries the same tariffs they impose on American goods.

Trump emphasised that tariffs would address unfair trade practices, including non-monetary barriers, subsidies, and VAT systems, while encouraging foreign countries to either reduce or eliminate tariffs against the US.

As per the announcements, the import tariffs on other major countries are China (34 per cent), the European Union (20 per cent), Vietnam (46 per cent), Taiwan (32 per cent), Japan (24 per cent), India (26 per cent), the United Kingdom (10 per cent), Bangladesh (37 per cent), Pakistan (29 per cent), Sri Lanka (44 per cent), and Israel (17 per cent).

Under the imposed tariffs, goods from India will face a 27 per cent tariff on steel, aluminium, and auto-related goods and no tariffs on pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, copper, or energy products.

According to experts, the tariffs imposed on Indian goods exported to the US present a dual-edged scenario for India’s manufacturing sector.

On the one hand, the relatively lower tariffs on Indian goods compared to those from China, Thailand, and Vietnam create a favourable arbitrage opportunity for Indian exports.

For the remaining products, India will be taxed a reciprocal tariff of 27 per cent.