India will not avoid raising tariffs from the US in retaliation for its high tariffs. US President Donald Trump announced this in an interview with Fox News.
„I told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that we will have reciprocity on tariffs with India. We will charge as many tariffs as you charge. We do that with every country. "Nobody can argue with me", said the head of the administration in Washington.
Referring to the plans of Elon Musk's American company Tesla to open its own electric car manufacturing plant in India, Trump called it "extremely unfair". New Delhi imposes 100% tariffs on US car imports.
Speaking at a press conference in Washington on February 14 after the visit of the Indian Prime Minister, Trump stressed that “India has the highest tariffs in the world for the United States“. “Using tariffs is a different way of doing business. It is very difficult to sell in India because there are high barriers and tariffs. “We will maintain the equivalent of the same tariffs that India's trading partners have“, Trump said.
Experts estimate that India could lose $7 billion a year from rising US trade tariffs. To ease trade tensions with the United States, in February the Indian authorities reduced tariffs on US motorcycles from 100 to 50% and reduced tariffs on one US alcoholic beverage from 150 to 100%. The Indian government is considering further reductions in tariffs on imports from the United States and increased purchases of American energy and defense products.
The United States is India's main trading partner. In the fiscal year 2023-2024, trade between the countries amounted to 118 billion USD. The trade balance is in favor of India with a surplus of 32 billion USD. India's budget for the fiscal year 2025-2026, adopted in late January, provides for reductions in tariffs on a number of imported goods from electronics to textiles, which is the first serious step in this direction by the country's government in recent years.