Trump’s 26% Tariff On India: United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced reciprocal tariffs on countries around the world. Trump imposed 26 percent tariff on India. Trump declared the new tariffs at the ‘Make America Wealthy Again’ Event. During his address, Trump called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “great friend,” and said that the United States charges India almost nothing. With the tariffs announced, Trump highlighted that the era of American taxpayers being “ripped off” was over. The tariffs have gone into effect immediately.
Make America Wealthy Again!
Trump said, “India very, very tough. The Prime Minister just left and is a great friend of mine, but you are not treating us right. They charge us 52 per cent and we charge them almost nothing…”
Emphasising his stance over new US tariff rates, Trump stated, “The United States charges other countries only a 2.4 tariff on motorcycles. Meanwhile, Thailand and others are charging much higher prices like 60%, India charges 70%, Vietnam charges 75% and others are even higher than that.”
Trump further added that a 25 per cent tariff would be imposed on all foreign-made automobiles. He stated that the imbalances have devastated the industrial base in US and put their national security at risk. Trump stressed that he doesn’t blame other countries for such “calamity” but former former presidents and past leaders are to be blamed.
MAKE AMERICA WEALTHY AGAIN! 💰
“This is one of the most important days… in American history; it’s our Declaration of Economic Independence. For years, hard-working American citizens were forced to sit on the sidelines… But now it’s our time to prosper.” – @POTUS 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/mKsAKIOtsp
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 2, 2025
“Such horrendous imbalances have devastated our industrial base and put our national security at risk. I don’t blame these other countries at all for this calamity. I blame former presidents and past leaders who weren’t doing their job…Effective at midnight, we will impose a 25% tariff on all foreign-made automobiles,” Trump added.
HAPPY LIBERATION DAY, AMERICA. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/LjAUnbBXAi
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 2, 2025
Market Expert Weighs In
As the US tariffs on India were announced, Indian market experts shared their views on them. According to experts, Indian textiles, engineering goods, electronics, and gems and jewellery sector exporters are expected to hit hardest by the tariffs.
Ajay Bagga, a banking and international stocks expert told ANI that these tariffs are based on exaggerated calculations. He said that these calculations include actual customs duties, alleged currency manipulation, and GST. Bagga further described the shift in US trade policy as moving from “America First” to “America Alone.”
“Indian domestic sectors are protected from first-level effects, but Indian textiles, engineering goods, electronics, and gems and jewellery exporters are immediately impacted. Metals are seeing a sell-off this morning, along with oil. Pharma majors are in wait-and-watch mode as sectoral tariffs will be levied on these,” added Bagga.
Bagga stressed that while India’s domestic sectors might not feel the immediate impact, exporters will face the brunt of the increased costs.
He highlighted that the stock market’s initial reaction to the news was to rush towards safe-haven assets while offloading riskier ones. He warned that the certainty of economic pain could weigh heavily on markets in the coming days. Bagga said, “Uncertainty is now converted to a certainty of economic and market pain. The first reaction is to rush into safe havens and to sell risk assets.”
The new tariffs are likely to pose significant challenges for Indian exporters. They will now have to navigate increased costs and reduced competitiveness in the United States market.
Also Read: US Tariff Alert! India’s Agri, Pharma, Machinery, And More At Risk, Caution Exporters
