After Trump's pressures, India is considering reducing tariffs for more than half of the products coming from the United States
The Republican president's reciprocal tariffs will take effect on April 2, and Narendra Modi's government is already working to mitigate their impact.
Modi and Trump in the Oval Office/Francis Chung
Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs will take effect on April 2, and many countries are already devising measures to mitigate or even nullify their effect. One of them is India. As reported by Reuters, Narendra Modi is evaluating reducing tariffs for more than half of the products arriving from the United States.
According to data from the World Trade Organization (WTO), he average U.S. tariff on foreign countries is 2.2%, while India's is 12%. In turn, the U.S. trade deficit with India is $45.6 billion.
Trump's reciprocal tariff policy could cost New Delhi some $66 billion, given that it would affect approximately 87% of its products. After speaking to government sources, Reuters noted that India is seriously evaluating a trade deal to reduce tariffs on more than half of U.S. imports worth $23 billion.
"Under the deal, India is open to reducing tariffs on 55% of U.S. goods it imports that are now subject to tariffs ranging from 5% to 30%, said both sources, who sought anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media," the media outlet added.
With this plan, India aims to reach the agreement before April 2, thus avoiding reciprocal tariffs from the United States.
The relationship between Donald Trump and Narendra Modi
"The people of America are aware of President Trump's motto - Make America Great again, or MAGA... The people of India want to Make India Great Again, or MIGA... MAGA plus MIGA equals 'MEGA Partnership for Prosperity,'" the Indian leader said during his visit.
In turn, the Republican publicly rebuked Modi for the high tariffs. "They’ve been very strong on tariffs, and I don’t blame them, necessarily, but it’s a different way of doing business. Its very hard to sell to India because they have trade barriers, very strong tariffs," Trump told him in the middle of a press conference.
"We are going to— if its India or if it’s somebody else— we’re going to have the same. Whatever India charges, we’re charging them. Whatever another country charges, we’re charging them. It’s call reciprocal, which I think is a very fair way," he added.
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