4-Minister Panel Led By Commerce Ministry To Study Impact Of Trump's Tariff On India

A Commerce Ministry-led committee has been established to study the impact of the 26% reciprocal tax recently imposed on India by the Trump administration.

A committee led by Commerce Ministry will study the impact of 26% reciprocal tariff imposed by the US on India.

Source : PTI

A committee led by Commerce Ministry will study the effects of 26 per cent reciprocal tax imposed by the Donald Trump administration on India. The US President has slapped universal duties on all countries exporting goods to the US with additional levies on countries like India. 

Washington had initially imposed a steep 27 per cent tariff on all goods, barring pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, energy and certain minerals not available in the United States. The import duty was later revised downward from 27 per cent to 26 per cent, according to a White House document.

Reacting to the move, the Indian government said it is "carefully examining the implications" of the announcements. It also added that it will study the opportunities that may arise due to this new development in the US trade policy.

A committee has been formed to study the implications of the tariff which will be headed by Commerce Ministry and will include four Cabinet ministers. 

Trump has also announced the imposition of additional ad valorem duties ranging from 10 per cent to 50 per cent on imports from all trading partners. The baseline duty of 10 per cent will be effective on India from April 5 and an additional 27 per cent from April 9.

How Trade Will Be Impacted?

The US policy will impact the export of products such as shrimp, carpets, medical devices and gold jewellery to America. However, exports of electronics, textiles, and pharma will get an edge over their competitor countries. 

Further, expemtion of energy from the tariffs will facilitate India with easy exports of fuels like gasoil and gasoline to the US.

The goods that have been exempted from the tariffs made up for just over 25 per cent of the total exports from India to the US.

India was among 60 countries that were slapped by reciprocal tariffs by the US. "This is Liberation Day, a long-awaited moment," Trump said on Wednesday. 

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.

(With inputs from Megha Prasad)