Carefully examining implications, in talks with US: India on Trump's tariffs

The statement by the Finance Ministry further revealed that discussions are underway between Indian and US trade teams to finalise a mutually beneficial, multi-sectoral Bilateral Trade Agreement.
(News Agency)- In its first official response to US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs on India, the Department of Commerce said on Thursday that it is carefully examining the implications of the measures and announcements made by Trump.
“The Department of Commerce is engaging with all stakeholders, including Indian industry representatives and exporters, to gather feedback on their assessment of the tariffs and analyse the situation. Keeping in view the vision of Viksit Bharat, the department is also studying potential opportunities that may arise due to this shift in US trade policy,” said the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in a press release.
The statement by the Finance Ministry further revealed that discussions are underway between Indian and US trade teams to finalise a mutually beneficial, multi-sectoral Bilateral Trade Agreement. “These negotiations encompass a broad range of issues, including supply chain integration, investment growth, and technology transfers,” the statement said.The US imposed reciprocal tariffs of 27 per cent on India. The new tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump include a universal 10% duty on all imports into the US starting from April 5, with an additional 17% to be applied from April 10. These tariffs are part of a broader trade policy targeting multiple countries, including India.
The press release further read, “The US President has issued an Executive Order on reciprocal tariffs, imposing additional ad-valorem duties ranging from 10% to 50% on imports from all trading partners. The baseline duty of 10% will take effect from April 5, 2025, while the remaining country-specific additional ad-valorem duties will be effective from April 9, 2025. According to Annex I of the Executive Order, the additional duty on Indian imports has been set at 27%.”
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) called for a high-level meeting on Thursday to assess Trump's tariff order. The Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister chaired the high-level meeting. Senior officials from the Commerce Ministry, NITI Aayog, DPIIT, and other departments were also present in the meeting.
On the other hand, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said, "For (Donald) Trump, it's America first but for Modi, it's India first. We are assessing the impact of reciprocal tariffs imposed by the US," news agency PTI reported.