The Ministry of Commerce is preparing for multiple scenarios in response to the imminent reciprocal tariffs that were imposed by the president of the United States, Donald Trump, on April 2, the PTI news agency reported to cite Fuentes. The Ministry is evaluating the potential impact of these duties on Indian exports and exploring strategies to mitigate their effects, sources told PTI.
Trump has declared April 2 as ‘Day of Liberation’, promising to introduce tariffs aimed at reducing the United States trade deficit and increasing national manufacturing. While India and the United States are working on a bilateral commercial agreement to facilitate investment and trade, imminent tariffs have expressed concerns among Indian exporters, who fear that they can make their products less competitive in global markets.
The officials of the Ministry of Commerce are analyzing various possibilities, since it is not clear if the tariffs will be applied at the product, sector or country level. The National Commercial Estate Report of the US Commercial Representative. UU. 2025 establishes that India maintains high import tariffs in several US goods, including agricultural products, pharmaceutical products and alcoholic beverages. The United States states that such barriers create commercial imbalances, with exports of the Indian farm that face a duty of 5.3% in the United States, while US farm exports to India are subject to a significantly higher tax than 37.7%.
Commerce experts point out that possible tariff gaps vary in all industries. The chemical and pharmaceutical sector faces a rate gap of 8.6%, plastics 5.6%, 1.4%textiles, jewelry 13.3%, base metals 2.5%, machinery 5.3%, electronics 7.2%and cars of 23.1%substantial. The sectors depend largely on exports to the US, such as shellfish, dairy, wines, diamonds, electronic products and chemicals, they could experience the most severe impact.
In addition to tariffs, Indian exporters have marked concerns about non -tariff barriers imposed by the US, as strict private standards and expensive registration processes for pharmaceutical products.
Trump has reiterated his position on imposing tariffs, saying that other nations have taken advantage of the US for years. “I think I heard that India will launch their tariffs very substantially. Many countries will launch their tariffs,” he said, added that some nations had already reduced their duties over US goods.
The White House echoed these concerns, highlighting that India imposes a 100% rate on American agricultural products. The White House Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, emphasized that the high rates of other nations have made it “practically impossible” for US products. UU. Entering their markets, which leads to job losses in the United States.
Trump planned rates include measures aimed at pharmaceutical products, copper, wood and cars, among others. While some analysts warn that these tasks could lead to higher consumption prices in the United States, Trump argues that they will encourage national production and investment. Its administration has suggested that rates could be used as leverage in commercial negotiations, and some officials indicate that adjustments can be made after the initial implementation.