New Delhi sees early trade talks with US as an edge over peers like China, Vietnam, and Indonesia, which have been hit harder by higher US tariffs.
Citing ongoing talks for a deal between the two countries, an Indian government official said India does not plan to retaliate against US President Donald Trump’s 26 per cent tariff on imports from the Asian nation, reported news agency Reuters.
The official, who declined to be named as the details of the talks are confidential, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has looked into a clause of Donald Trump’s tariff order that offers a possible reprieve for trading partners who “take significant steps to remedy non-reciprocal trade arrangements".
Positioning itself ahead of regional rivals, New Delhi sees an advantage in being one of the first nations to have started talks over a trade deal with Washington, and is better placed than Asian peers such as China, Vietnam, and Indonesia, which higher US tariffs have hit, a second government official said, also declining to be named.
India joins Taiwan, Indonesia in skipping counter tariffs
Joining nations such as Taiwan and Indonesia, India ruled out counter tariffs in the days after Trump’s tariff announcement that has shaken global markets to their core, even as the European Commission prepares to hit US products with extra duties following China’s retaliation, the report added.
To resolve their standoff on tariffs, India and the US agreed in February to clinch an early trade deal by autumn 2025.
The report also added that prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment.
Seeking to ease trade tensions, Modi’s administration has made several concessions to the US, such as cutting tariffs on high-end bikes and bourbon, and scrapping a digital services tax that had impacted American tech giants.
Economists warn that Donald Trump’s tariffs could dent India’s economic growth by 20–40 basis points this financial year and deal a blow to the diamond industry, which sends over a third of its exports to the US, threatening thousands of jobs.