Trump Slaps 27% Tariff On India

India, very, very tough. The Prime Minister Modi is a great friend of mine, but I said, you’re a friend of mine, but you’re not treating us right. They charge us 52%. We charge them almost nothing for decades - Donald Trump, US President

New York/Washington/New Delhi: The US has announced additional 27 per cent import duties on India saying New Delhi imposes high tariffs on American goods, as the Donald Trump administration aims to reduce the trade deficit and boost manufacturing. Though the move is expected to impact India”s exports of certain sectors to the US, experts say that India is better-placed than its competitors, including Bangladesh (37 per cent), China (54 per cent), Vietnam (46 per cent) and Thailand (36 per cent) who face increased levies. President Trump, in a historic measure to counter higher duties on American products imposed globally, announced reciprocal tariffs on about 60 countries.

“This is Liberation Day, a long-awaited moment. April 2, 2025, will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again. We are going to make it wealthy, good, and wealthy,” Trump said in his remarks from the Rose Garden at the White House on Wednesday. He said that the United States charges other countries only a 2.4 per cent tariff on motorcycles, but Thailand and others are charging much higher rates, like 60 per cent, India 70 per cent, Vietnam 75 per cent, and others charge even higher rates.

As he announced the tariffs, he held up a chart that showed the tariffs that countries such as India, China, the UK, and the European Union charge, along with the reciprocal tariffs that these countries will now have to pay.

The chart indicated that India charged an average 52 per cent tariff, including currency manipulation and trade barriers on US goods, and America would now charge India a ‘discounted’ reciprocal tariff of 26 per cent. But according to the White House documents, there will be a 27 per cent additional duty on India.

“India, very, very tough. Very, very tough. The Prime Minister just left. He’s a great friend of mine, but I said, you’re a friend of mine, but you’re not treating us right. They charge us 52 per cent. You have to understand, we charge them almost nothing for years and years and decades, and it was only seven years ago, when I came in, that we started with China,” Trump said.

Goods from India are already facing a 25 per cent tariff on steel, aluminium, and auto. For remaining products, India is subject to a base line tariff of 10 per cent during April 5-8. After that, the tariff will rise to country-specific 27 per cent starting April 9.

Explaining the imposition of the additional duty, an official said if product ‘A’ faces 5 per cent duty in America at present, it will be 15 per cent on April 5 and 32 per cent from April 9. The official said that these tariffs were a ‘mixed bag and not a setback’ and the Commerce Ministry is analysing the impact of this reciprocal tariff.