Key Takeaways
- President Trump announces a 26% ‘discounted reciprocal tariff’ on Indian imports, amidst an ongoing trade war between the two nations.
- The reciprocal tariff will be effective from April 9, marking a significant shift in India-US trade relations.
- The announcement comes as India and the US are negotiating a mutually beneficial Bilateral Trade Agreement, with the first tranche expected to be ready by the fall of 2025.
Washington/New Delhi: US President Donald Trump announced a 26% “discounted reciprocal tariff” on Indian imports, while describing the tariffs imposed by India as “very very tough”.
President Trump addressed the nation from the White House Rose Garden, praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a great friend. However, he also criticized New Delhi for being “very, very tough” in trade negotiations.
“India, very, very tough. Very, very tough. The Prime Minister just left. He’s a great friend of mine, but I said, ‘You are a friend of mine, but you are not treating us right,’” he said.
He said that India charges 52 per cent tariffs on US.
“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,” he said.
The reciprocal tariff will be effective from April 9, according to a statement from the White House.
“This is Liberation Day, a long-awaited moment. 2nd April 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,” President Trump said.
The announcement of reciprocal tariffs comes as India and the US are negotiating a mutually beneficial Bilateral Trade Agreement with the first tranche expected to be ready by the fall of 2025.
