India is in talks with the US for a multi-sectoral trade agreement after President Trump imposed a 27 per cent reciprocal tariff on Indian imports.
New Delhi said on Thursday that talks with Washington were underway for a “mutually beneficial, multi-sectoral bilateral trade agreement”, while stressing that officials were “carefully examining” the implications of US President Donald Trump’s move to announce a 27 per cent reciprocal tariff on India.
In an official statement, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry stated, “The US President issued an Executive Order on Reciprocal Tariffs imposing additional ad-valorem duties ranging from 10% to 50% on imports from all trading partners.”
“The baseline duty of 10% will be effective from April 05, 2025 and the remaining country specific additional ad-valorem duty will be effective from April 09, 2025. The additional duty on India as per the Annex I of the Executive Order is 27%,” the release read.
“The Department of Commerce is carefully examining the implications of the various measures / announcements made by the President of the USA. Keeping in view the vision of Viksit Bharat, the Department is engaged with all stakeholders, including Indian industry and exporters, taking feedback of their assessment of the tariffs and assessing the situation,” it stated.
“The Department is also studying the opportunities that may arise due to this new development in the US trade policy.”
“Accordingly, discussions are ongoing between Indian and US trade teams for the expeditious conclusion of a mutually beneficial, multi-sectoral Bilateral Trade Agreement. These cover a wide range of issues of mutual interest including deepening supply chain integration,” the statement read.
“The ongoing talks are focused on enabling both nations to grow trade, investments and technology transfers. We remain in touch with the Trump Administration on these issues and expect to take them forward in the coming days,” it added.
Earlier today, a senior government official was quoted by news agency PTI as saying that the commerce ministry was analysing the impact of the tariffs.
He also termed the tariffs imposed by the United States on India as “a mixed bag and not a setback” for the country.
News agency PTI quoted the official as saying that the universal 10 per cent tariffs will come into effect on all imports into the US from April 5 and the remaining 17 per cent from April 10.
The US announced 27 per cent reciprocal tariffs on India saying New Delhi imposes high import duties on American goods, as the Donald Trump administration aims to reduce the country’s trade deficit and boost manufacturing.