India Explores New Trade Opportunities Amid Trump’s Reciprocal Tariffs

Trump’s Reciprocal Tariffs: The Indian government announced on Thursday that it is evaluating the effects of the new trade policy and looking into potential opportunities in response to US President Donald Trump's recent executive order imposing reciprocal tariffs.

The US administration's new tariff regime, which includes additional ad-valorem duties ranging from 10% to 50% on imports from all trading partners, was detailed in a statement released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. According to this executive order, country-specific additional duties will take effect on April 9, 2025, while the baseline 10% duty will take effect on April 5, 2025. According to the executive order, the additional tariff for India is 27%.

“The Department of Commerce is carefully examining the implications of the various measures and announcements made by the US administration. In line with the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat,’ the department is engaging with stakeholders, including Indian industry and exporters, to gather their assessments of the new tariffs and to evaluate the overall situation,” the ministry said in its statement.

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As the situation is being evaluated with a long-term view of the nation's strategic interests, the Ministry of Commerce stated that it is actively researching possible opportunities arising from the new US trade policy.

“The ongoing discussions aim to facilitate the growth of trade, investments, and technology transfers between both nations,” the statement said. “We remain in close contact with the Trump Administration and expect to make progress in the coming days.”

As the situation is being evaluated with a long-term view of the nation's strategic interests, the Ministry of Commerce stated that it is actively researching possible opportunities arising from the new US trade policy.

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On February 13, 2025, US President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced their "Mission 500," which aims to more than double bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030. In light of this, the goal of the current negotiations between the US and Indian trade teams is to quickly reach a mutually advantageous bilateral trade agreement. Deepening supply chain integration and improving trade, investment, and technology transfers between the two countries are just a few of the many topics that would be covered by this agreement.

“The ongoing discussions aim to facilitate the growth of trade, investments, and technology transfers between both nations,” the statement said. “We remain in close contact with the Trump Administration and expect to make progress in the coming days.”

Additionally, India reaffirmed the significance of its Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership with the United States and pledged to continue working together on the "Catalysing Opportunities for Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce & Technology" (COMPACT) initiative. The objective of this partnership is to guarantee that trade relations between the two nations continue to be a foundation of mutual prosperity, bringing about revolutionary changes that benefit the citizens of both countries.

Since President Trump began his second term, he has consistently emphasized the principle of tariff reciprocity, asserting that the United States will mirror tariffs imposed by other countries, including India, to ensure fair trade practices.

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