Trump tariff threats to open market access talks

Experts call for a targeted reduction of levy by India, with policies to boost manufacturing

- Mukesh Jagota

As US President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday asserted that the world's largest economy would charge taxes (import tariffs) on India on a strictly reciprocal basis, experts here said the move would force open negotiations for greater market access between the two countries.

While Trump talked of reciprocity, product-to-product parity on tariffs is not possible because items of export for both countries are not the same as imports, they pointed out. One form the US action could take is matching the tariffs that India imposes on some US products with a similar burden on some other products that India sells to the US.

Trump's comments that India imposes tariffs of 100% are also misleading, they noted. Only in some select products like automobiles and wines and spirits that the tariffs reach that level. Even the US has over 100% tariffs.

The outgoing Biden administration has imposed 100% tax on Chinese electric vehicles. "India's average tariff stands at 17%, significantly higher than the US's 3.3%, but comparable to countries like South Korea (13.4%) and China (7.5%)," according to an analysis by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).