Donald Trump trade war impact: India in wait-and-watch mode on impact of tariff differentials; ‘difficult to plan…’
India-US trade deal: Even as India looks to finalise a trade deal with the US, officials have said that they are keeping an eye on the reciprocal tariffs imposed by America on other countries to assess impact.According to an ET report, India is keeping an active track on the possible tariff differentials that will come about as a result of Donald Trump administration’s August 1 duties move.US President Donald Trump has been sending tariff letters to several countries alerting them of the rates that will be applicable on their exports to America from August 1, 2025.
India in ‘Wait-and-Watch’ Mode
Officials were quoted by the financial daily as saying that contingency measures will be considered only after evaluating the complete effect of these tariffs on other countries. For now, the authorities have adopted a wait-and-watch stance.“Today, on July 15, we are not in a position to guesstimate the differential tariff that is going to play out on August 1,” one official was quoted as saying.Also Read | ‘Going to have access into..’: Donald Trump shares update on India-US trade deal after Indonesia tariff agreement; says ‘working on same line…’Meanwhile, India’s Commerce Ministry officials are in the US for the fifth round of discussions regarding the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA). “The negotiations are in progress as per the decision of the leaders and the terms of reference decided,” the official said.The parties involved are working towards finalising the initial phase of the BTA by September.Whilst discussing the challenges in formulating a contingency strategy, the official said, “We have got tariff numbers for about 25 countries… The US has announced that they are going to do trade deals in two weeks. So, what do these deals lead to, and what will be the final spectrum of tariffs that will be rolled out on August 1?… Without understanding that, it will be very difficult to plan for a contingency plan.“Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has said deal talks with America are progressing at a ‘very fast pace’.Also Read | Trump tariff war: Deal or no deal – why it won’t matter much for IndiaEarlier today US President Donald Trump said that a deal with India will give better access to the Indian markets.“We made a deal with Indonesia. I spoke to their really great president…and we made the deal. We have full access to Indonesia, everything. As you know, Indonesia is very strong on copper, but we have full access to everything. We will pay no tariffs. They are giving us access into Indonesia, which we never had. That’s probably the biggest part of the deal…India is basically working along that same line.”“We’re going to have access into India. You have to understand, we had no access to any of these countries. Our people couldn’t go in and now we’re getting access because of what we’re doing with the tariffs…,” the US President added.Also Read | India-US trade deal: Why Indian importers are delaying customs clearance of American dry fruit; ‘opting to pay penalty because…’
