The government has set up an inter-ministerial group to monitor a possible surge in imports from countries like China, Vietnam and Thailand, fearing a surge in inbound shipments following the imposition of high reciprocal tariffs by the US on these countries, sources said. The product categories that may see an upsurge in diversion of imports from the US to India include consumer goods, electronics, chemicals and steel.
Industry insiders in India warn that any such move in the pharmaceutical sector could be counterproductive for the US as it may face increased drug shortages if tariffs are imposed on such imports.
India has implemented a number of free trade agreements with developed nations and is in active dialogue for such pacts with nations including the US, Oman, and the EU, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said. India has implemented trade pacts with Australia, the UAE and EFTA bloc. It has also signed an agreement with the UK.
India and the United States will finalize the contours, schedule of negotiations, and terms of reference for a proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) during a three-day meeting beginning Tuesday. The agreement is expected to be finalized in two tranches, with the first phase focusing on goods trade. The US team, led by Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch, will be in India from March 25-29 to discuss the agreement. Both countries are aiming to conclude the first phase of the agreement by fall 2025.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday pledged to strengthen the strategic relationships with neighbouring countries by 'appropriately' managing differences and enhancing supply chain ties as China's tariff war with the United States escalated.
The government on Friday slashed the import tariff value on gold and silver to $405 per ten gram and $642 per kg, respectively, in line with global trends.
From Rs 73k to over Rs 1.2L between January-December 2025 -- is buying gold in 2026 still sensible?
While participants in the domestic financial market are expecting a 25 basis-point policy repo rate cut in the December meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), economists remain torn between a reduction in rate cut and a pause.
Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, Tata Motors, Titan, Tata Consultancy Services, Nestle and Maruti were also among the major laggards. HDFC Bank emerged as the only gainer from the pack.
An hour before his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trump again commented on India's tariff structure, saying 'they have the highest tariffs' and 'it is a hard place to do business'.
Sanjay Malhotra has made structural changes to banking regulation to bring down costs and increase efficiency. Plus, he kicked off a benign interest regime. But there are challenges ahead.
India maintains "high" import duties on a wide range of American goods such as agricultural items, drug formulations, and alcoholic beverages, besides imposing non-tariif barriers, a US report has said. A day before announcing reciprocal tariffs, the US Trade Representative (USTR) released the 2025 National Trade Estimate (NTE) Report on March 31.
'India has very strong tariffs on certain imports from the US. Like in the automobile sector, India charges 100 per cent'
The rupee breached 90-levels against the greenback for the first time on Wednesday, falling 6 paise to 90.02 in early trade, as banks kept buying US dollars at higher levels and FII outflows continued.
The consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation hitting an all-time low in October would encourage the six-member monetary policy committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to cut the policy repo rate in its upcoming December 3-5 meeting. However, the July-September GDP growth, expected to be above 7 per cent, may act as a deterrent.
Indian auto component exporters may suffer a hit of 2,700 crore to 4,500 crore on their earnings after the imposition of steep US tariffs on key automotive parts, credit rating agency ICRA said in a note on Monday. The new 25 per cent tariff on engines, transmission, electrical components, and other auto parts may moderate the overall auto component industry's revenue growth to 6-8 per cent in 2025-26 (FY26), down from an earlier projection of 8-10 per cent.
'Trade deal will act as a strong trigger for market sentiment, not just for domestic investors but also for FIIs.'
'The steel industry has a multiplier effect on direct and indirect employment, national security on the supply chain, technology access etc.'
"These latest so-called 'Liberation Day' tariffs are reckless and self-destructive, inflicting financial pain on Illinois at a time when people are already struggling to keep their small businesses afloat and put food on the table."
India's economy could reach $20.7 trillion in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) by 2030 and may emerge as the second-largest economy by 2038 with $34.2 trillion GDP, an EY report said on Wednesday. The report also said that with appropriate countermeasures, India can limit the adverse impact of higher US tariffs on selected Indian imports to about 10 basis points of real GDP growth.
India and Russia have solidified a five-year plan to enhance their economic and trade partnership, while also addressing the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the threat of terrorism.
Apple's ambitious strategy to expand iPhone exports, shift more production from China to India at a faster pace, and grow its domestic market hits a Trump-sized roadblock.
In a statement, the Chinese ministry of commerce said that it would file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organisation against the US for its "wrongful practice," the Global Times reported.
'India is cosying up to Xi Jinping. They don't need the Russian oil. It's a refining profiteering scheme.'
'A repo cut will be very good for the market as it will mean that everything is being done to spur growth in these uncertain times.'
Trump on February 1 had announced tariffs on major US trading partners Canada, Mexico and China. He imposed a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian and Mexican imports and a 10 per cent on goods from China.
As the 50 per cent US tariffs on the Indian imports came into effect on Wednesday, the stakeholders of the diamond industry in Surat believe that the market will be affected due to US' decision only for a short period of time as India controls 90% of diamond production.
Here is the complete list of tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on Wednesday.
'Trump does have a master plan in mind to put pressure on India with the additional tariff of 25 per cent to get Modi to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to freeze the Ukraine war.' 'It has not worked so far. By end-September only we'll know for sure the future trajectory of India's oil purchases from Russia,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
India's crude oil imports from Russia saw a marginal decline in September, but continued to account for over one-third of the country's total oil purchases, despite US pressure to curb the trade over concerns that it supports Moscow's war effort in Ukraine. India's crude imports in September were around 4.7 million barrels per day, up 220,000 bpd month-on-month and flat year-on-year.
United States President Donald Trump has said India is 'very close' to China in terms of its purchases of Russian oil and will pay tariffs of 50 per cent as he indicated that 'you are going to see so much secondary sanctions'.
Saudi Arabia's steep cut in LPG benchmark prices has pushed India's household LPG underrecoveries to their lowest level in over two years, slashing oil companies' losses from Rs 200-250 per cylinder last year to about Rs 20-40 now.
The commerce ministry on Tuesday said the discussions with visiting US Chief Negotiator Brendan Lynch on the proposed bilateral trade agreement were positive and forward looking.
India's computer services exports have risen 30 per cent since the advent of ChatGPT in November 2022, even as overall services exports have plateaued, World Bank's South Asia Chief Economist Franziska Ohnsorge said, terming Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the conclusion of more trade agreements that can trigger a "manufacturing renaissance", as the two big investment opportunities for India in coming years.
The government on Friday slashed the import tariff value on gold to $398 per ten grams while raising it marginally on silver to $643 per kg in line with global trends.
From the Sensex firms, Tata Steel, Power Grid, NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Industries and Adani Ports were among the biggest gainers. Asian Paints and Tata Consultancy Services were the only laggards.
'Given the lag in transmission, further softening of lending rates may happen in the coming months.'
The official said there are both challenges and opportunities for India as many of its competitor countries in exports, such as China Vietnam, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Thailand, face higher duties.
Trump also praised Chinese President as "a great leader of a great country" and said the two sides had "already agreed to a lot of things."
Any potential tariffs on pharmaceutical imports into the US are unlikely to impact the credit profiles of Indian firms except for a short-term pricing blip, according to a report by India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra). The report stated that the US generics market contributes around 35 per cent to the total revenue of the leading Indian pharma firms.
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