Of Trump's reciprocal tariffs and trade deals
The trade war between the US and China is expected to benefit Indian exporters in increasing their shipments to the American market, sources said. They said the country was the fourth-largest gainer when the US imposed higher duties on Chinese goods during US President Donald Trump's first tenure.
By 2025, natural gas will comprise 20% of the Indian primary energy basket. Natural gas will substitute crude oil for a host of applications due to its non-polluting and economic nature.
The Indian chemical industry has an output of around USD 80 billion and ranks 12th in the world while the size of the global chemical industry is in the region of USD 3 trillion.
Revenue intelligence officers have detected Rs 4,389 crore duty evasion by Chinese smartphone maker Oppo by misdeclaration of imports, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday. The Chinese company deals in mobile brands -- Oppo, OnePlus and Realme. During an investigation of Oppo Mobiles India Private Limited, a subsidiary of Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corporation Ltd - China (Oppo China), the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has detected Customs duty evasion of around Rs 4,389 crore.
While the surcharge on super-rich would help garner additional income of around Rs 12,000 crore this fiscal on the direct tax side.
An Indian official team is likely to visit Washington next week to iron out differences on certain issues before formally launching negotiations for the proposed India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA), an official said. The visit, which comes within weeks of a high-level US team visiting India, indicates that the talks for the BTA are gaining momentum.
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 total turnover of tyre industry covering 36 companies stood at Rs 22500 crore.
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.
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 primary drivers: Geopolitical disruptions inflating fuel and operational costs, and a surge in travel demand.
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.
Highlights of the Union Budget 2024-25 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
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.
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."
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 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.
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 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.
The Indian automotive market offers around 1 million units annual volume opportunity at a price above $23,000.
'Increasingly, they treat gold as a financial asset in their portfolio rather than just as jewellery.'
'We crossed Rs 1.7 trillion in three months this financial year.'
Ahead of the visit, officials from key government departments held intense discussions to identify key trade-related proposals.
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.
Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom said Trump is "pulling a military dragnet" across Los Angeles.
The doubling of Clean Energy Cess from Rs 200 to 400 per tonne would further increase the input cost for domestic producers.
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.
Budget has hiked customs duty on all ores and concentrates from 2 per cent to 2.5 per cent.
'As negotiations continue, the path forward demands not only diplomatic skill, but also vigilance against legal asymmetries embedded in America's trade playbook.'
The latest deployment comes on the same day California filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, asking a judge to declare the deployments unconstitutional.
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.
Excise duty cut to boost Polymers sector.
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).
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.'
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.
The US Trade Representative noted that India's average applied tariff rate stood at 17% per cent, the highest of any major world economy.
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.
Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman has presented a forward-looking Budget, reinforcing the government's commitment to 'Reform, Perform, and Transform'.
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