New Delhi, April 4 – The White House has revised the proposed import tariff on Indian goods from 27 percent to 26 percent, as per updated official documents released this week. The new tariff, part of a broader set of retaliatory trade measures announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, will come into effect from April 9.
Earlier this week, President Trump unveiled a chart during his announcement of new countervailing duties on over 60 countries, including India, China, the United Kingdom, and members of the European Union. The chart indicated that India imposes a 52 percent tariff on U.S. goods, citing reasons such as "currency manipulation and trade barriers," and that the U.S. would respond by levying a 26 percent reciprocal duty.
Although initial documents from the White House had mentioned a 27 percent tariff on Indian imports, the most recent revision lowered the figure to 26 percent. Industry experts, when asked about the revision, remarked that the one percent reduction is unlikely to make a significant impact on trade dynamics or cost structures.
The United States has been India’s largest trading partner from fiscal years 2021-22 to 2023-24, accounting for approximately 18 percent of India’s total merchandise exports, 6.22 percent of its imports, and 10.73 percent of its total bilateral trade.
In 2023-24, India recorded a goods trade surplus of $35.32 billion with the U.S., up from $27.7 billion in 2022-23 and $32.85 billion in 2021-22. The surplus was $22.73 billion in 2020-21 and $17.26 billion in 2019-20.
India’s major exports to the U.S. in 2024 included pharmaceutical and organic products worth $8.1 billion, telecommunications equipment at $6.5 billion, precious and semi-precious stones at $5.3 billion, petroleum products at $4.1 billion, gold and other jewelry at $3.2 billion, ready-made cotton garments including accessories at $2.8 billion, and iron and steel products valued at $2.7 billion.
Key imports from the U.S. during the same period included crude oil worth $4.5 billion, petroleum products at $3.6 billion, coal and coke at $3.4 billion, cut and polished diamonds at $2.6 billion, electric machinery at $1.4 billion, aircraft and space vehicle components at $1.3 billion, and gold valued at $1.3 billion.
