‘Carefully examining implications’: Centre on US tariffs

The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Thursday said it is “carefully examining the implications of the various measures” related to reciprocal tariffs announced by the United States a day earlier.

On Wednesday, the US announced that it was imposing reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries, including a 26% “discounted” levy on India. These will take effect on April 9.

US President Donald Trump announced a 10% minimum tariff on most goods imported into his country, which will take effect on Saturday. Washington also imposed a 25% tariff on all foreign-made automobiles, which will go into effect on Thursday.

The ministry said in India’s first response to the tariff announcement that the US president had issued an executive order imposing additional duties ranging from 10% to 50% on imports from all trading partners. “The additional duty on India as per the Annex I of the Executive Order is 27%,” it stated.

The ministry said it was engaging with all stakeholders, including those in the Indian industry and exporters, and assessing the situation. “The department is also studying the opportunities that may arise due to this new development in the US trade policy,” it said.

Trump had repeatedly said that he intended to impose a reciprocal tax on India, among others, citing high tariffs the countries impose on foreign goods....

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