The United States announced a 25 per cent tariff on India as the White House released an expansive list of duties that Washington, DC will impose on exports from countries around the world.
A day ahead of the interim Budget, India slashed import duty on spare parts, like battery cover, lens and SIM socket, used in mobile phone manufacturing to 10 per cent, from 15 per cent. The duty cut is aimed at boosting local production and exports, as well as reducing prices in local markets. The finance ministry on January 30, notified the cut in duty on all goods for use in manufacture of cellular mobile phones to 10 per cent.
The primary drivers: Geopolitical disruptions inflating fuel and operational costs, and a surge in travel demand.
Industry associations and companies in the United States, including the US Chamber of Commerce, Coalition of Services Industries and the iconic bike company Harley Davidson have called on the Donald Trump dispensation to push India to reduce tariffs, non-tariffs, and regulatory barriers to boost American exports.
The total turnover of tyre industry covering 36 companies stood at Rs 22500 crore.
Issues related to the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) and bilateral investment treaty between India and the UK are expected to figure during the three-day visit of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to London from April 8-10, official sources said. The minister will attend a host of meetings, including the India-United Kingdom Economic and Financial Dialogue, in London.
Tata Steel's UK operations, which have largely been a struggle since the acquisition, are expected to turn earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda)-positive this financial year (2025-26/FY26) and possibly profitable by the next. Responding to shareholder queries at Tata Steel's annual general meeting, Tata group chairman N Chandrasekaran said, "We expect the UK to perform much better this year compared to last year - it will definitely be Ebitda-positive."
Goods from sectors, including agriculture, precious stones, chemicals, pharma, medical devices, electricals, and machinery may get impacted if the US will go ahead with imposing reciprocal tariffs on Indian products, according to experts. They said that these sectors could face additional customs duties from the Trump administration because of the high tariff differential or gap, which is the difference between the import duties imposed by the US and India on a product.
Highlights of the Union Budget 2024-25 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
India and the US have decided to hold sector-specific talks in the coming weeks to finalise the structure of the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA), the government said on Saturday. The engagement between the two countries came in the backdrop of the USA's threat to impose reciprocal tariffs on its key trading partners, including India, on April 2.
India's merchandise exports to the US rose by 16.93 per cent to $8.83 billion in May, while imports dipped by 5.76 per cent to $3.62 billion during the month, according to the commerce ministry data. During April-May, the country's exports to the US increased by 21.78 per cent to $17.25 billion, while imports rose by 25.8 per cent to $8.87 billion, the data showed.
'Increasingly, they treat gold as a financial asset in their portfolio rather than just as jewellery.'
The Indian automotive market offers around 1 million units annual volume opportunity at a price above $23,000.
Gold, silver and other precious metals along with imported mobile phones, certain cancer drugs and medical devices are set to become cheaper with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing cuts in customs duty in the Union Budget 2024-25.
India's recent move to remove additional 'retaliatory' duty on eight products from the United States (US), including apples and walnuts, would not have any negative impact on the domestic producers, the government clarified, even as the issue threatened to snowball into a political slugfest between the ruling and Opposition parties. The move would, in fact, result in competition in the premium market segment, ensuring better quality at better prices for consumers, especially for apples, a senior government official said. "There were certain concerns that were being raised on the mutually agreed solution that has come in, more specific to seven-eight agriculture products where we had levied additional import duties in retaliation to the steel and aluminum measures (imposed by the US)," Peeyush Kumar, additional secretary in the commerce department, told reporters in a briefing.
Ahead of the visit, officials from key government departments held intense discussions to identify key trade-related proposals.
Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom said Trump is "pulling a military dragnet" across Los Angeles.
'We crossed Rs 1.7 trillion in three months this financial year.'
The mortality-to-incidence ratio for India was 64.47 per cent in 2022, the highest while comparing the top 10 countries with the highest number of cancer incidences.
The latest deployment comes on the same day California filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, asking a judge to declare the deployments unconstitutional.
'As negotiations continue, the path forward demands not only diplomatic skill, but also vigilance against legal asymmetries embedded in America's trade playbook.'
Indian drugmakers supply 47 per cent of the generic medicine requirements in the US, and tariffs would have increased prices in the US domestic market for patients, who are already dealing with drug shortages.
Foreign companies now pay less tax relative to their earnings than at any time in more than three decades. Foreign private companies paid 24.36 per cent of their pre-tax profit as tax in 2023-24, show numbers from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).
The government on Friday approved an electric-vehicle policy, under which duty concessions will be given to companies setting up manufacturing units in the country with a minimum investment of $500 million, a move aimed at attracting major global players like US-based Tesla. According to an official statement, the companies setting up manufacturing facilities for e-vehicles will be allowed to import a limited number of cars at lower customs duty. The policy seeks to promote India as a manufacturing destination for EVs and attract investment from reputed global EV manufacturers, it added.
The doubling of Clean Energy Cess from Rs 200 to 400 per tonne would further increase the input cost for domestic producers.
According to experts, even if an additional 5 per cent of people opt to buy new vehicles, it may bring a huge boost to the sector.
'The scrapping of import duty would help Indian companies compete in international markets, thus paving the way for India becoming a space manufacturing hub for the world.'
The US Trade Representative noted that India's average applied tariff rate stood at 17% per cent, the highest of any major world economy.
Budget has hiked customs duty on all ores and concentrates from 2 per cent to 2.5 per cent.
Excise duty cut to boost Polymers sector.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will lead a team of senior Indian officials to Washington starting May 16 for discussions with their US counterparts on the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA), an official said on Tuesday. Goyal is expected to hold meetings with US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick during his visit.
While demand for sub Rs 50-lakh affordable housing prevails, market players cite increased land rates, escalated construction costs and low margins as key prohibiting factors.
According to reports on Monday, customs officials had seized two watches worth 5 crore from Hardik on his arrival from Dubai as he did not possess invoices for the items purchased and did not declare them at the Customs.
Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman has presented a forward-looking Budget, reinforcing the government's commitment to 'Reform, Perform, and Transform'.
A team of senior officials from India will again visit Washington this month to hold discussions with their US counterparts on the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA), government sources said on Thursday. To give impetus to the talks, India's chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal, special secretary in the Department of Commerce, and Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch had last month held three-day talks in Washington.
S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday said the impact of the US reciprocal tariff will be limited on India as the economy is domestically oriented with less reliance on exports. YeeFarn Phua, Director, Sovereigns and International Public Finance Ratings, Asia-Pacific S&P Global also said India will clock a 6.7-6.8 per cent GDP growth over the next two years.
Adding petrol and diesel to GST was a challenging task due to their significant role as revenue generators for both the central and state governments.
Following the lacklustre growth numbers in the second quarter (Q2FY25), economists believe the upcoming Union Budget for 2025-26 should focus on reforms that will stimulate consumption, manufacturing and spur employment. India's growth unexpectedly slowed to 5.4 per cent in the second quarter, due to low capital formation, weak consumption, besides adverse weather impact.
Importers will now have to provide sufficient proof to the domestic customs authorities that the goods being imported have a minimum 35 per cent value addition in the country from which it is being exported to India.
Containers from a Liberian cargo ship that sank off the Kerala coast have started washing ashore, prompting authorities to urge the public to stay away from them. The ship carried 13 hazardous cargos, including calcium carbide, which reacts with seawater to release highly flammable acetylene gas. The Indian Coast Guard is leading pollution response efforts and monitoring the spread of the oil slick.
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