Reduction in American tariff will reduce the burden on Indian goods, know the opinion of experts
Delhi. Experts say that after the US Supreme Court canceling the comprehensive tariffs of President Donald Trump and the new order from America imposing a temporary import duty of 10 percent, now there will be only 10 percent reciprocal duty on Indian goods from February 24, which will reduce the burden significantly as compared to before.
The US Supreme Court, in a 6-3 majority decision, said that the sweeping tariffs imposed by the President on various countries were outside the scope of the law. This decision was written by Chief Justice John Roberts. This is being considered a blow to the economic agenda of Trump’s second term.
In an announcement issued on February 20 after the Supreme Court’s decision, Trump said that a temporary import duty of 10 percent will be imposed on goods imported into the US for 150 days from February 24, 2026.
It is noteworthy that America had imposed a reciprocal duty of 25 percent on India in August. Later, on the issue of buying crude oil from Russia, an additional punitive duty of 25 percent was imposed, taking the total duty to 50 percent.
Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) Director General Ajay Sahay said that after the new order, the reciprocal duty on Indian goods will come down to 10 percent. This duty will be in addition to the existing Most Favored Nation (MFN) import duty applicable in the US. For example, if a product has a five per cent MFN duty, the total duty on it will be 15 per cent. “The reciprocal duty has now come down to 10 percent,” said research institute Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).
GTRI founder Ajay Srivastava suggested that India should review the interim trade agreement with the US. He said that now the reciprocal duty will be applicable only on about 55 percent of the total value of India’s exports to America, while about 40 percent of the goods are in the exempted category. However, regional duty of 50 percent on steel, aluminum and copper and 25 percent on some auto parts will continue.
After the Supreme Court’s decision, Trump said that there is no change in the trade agreement with India. Earlier, when the two countries had announced agreement on the framework of an interim trade agreement, Trump had issued an executive order removing the 25 percent punitive duty imposed on India for buying oil from Russia.
The US President had said that India has committed to stop importing energy directly or indirectly from Moscow and buy American energy products. Under the trade agreement, America had agreed to reduce the reciprocal duty on India from 25 percent to 18 percent. However, when Trump was asked about the agreement with India, he said, “Nothing has changed.”
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