Onlykashmir.in News Desk
Washington: President Donald Trump imposed a 26% “discounted reciprocal tariff” on Indian imports today, alongside steeper rates on neighbors—Pakistan and Bangladesh at 38%, Sri Lanka at 44%, and China at 34%—while the EU faces 20% and Cambodia 49%. Built on a 10% baseline duty, the move targets India’s 52% tariffs on U.S. goods, which Trump slammed as “unfair treatment.”
India’s $36.8 billion trade surplus with the U.S. now hangs in the balance. Key sectors like pharmaceuticals, IT, and auto parts—vital to the $120 billion Indo-U.S. trade relationship—face disruption, with potential price hikes for American consumers reliant on India’s affordable generics.
U.S. tech firms outsourcing to India could see costs soar, straining bilateral economic ties. India’s exports, though only 1.1% of its GDP, support millions of jobs, and a hit here could ripple through its economy.
Markets dipped, with the Indian rupee under pressure. New Delhi is mulling tariff cuts on $23 billion in U.S. imports, like whiskey and machinery, to salvage the “great friendship” with Trump. However, stalled U.S. investments in India’s manufacturing and defense sectors—cornerstones of recent Indo-U.S. cooperation—may falter, testing the strategic partnership amid rising geopolitical stakes.
Trump boasted, “America’s getting rich,” but with neighbors facing harsher tariffs, India’s regional edge could shift as the trade war heats up.
