In a world exclusive conversation with Business Today Executive Director Rahul Kanwal at the India Today Conclave, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said the series of tariffs imposed by the U.S. in the first 6 weeks of Trump administration will not lead to higher prices in the U.S. “India has amongst the highest, if not the highest tariff rate in the world, the second highest tariff rate in the world”, Lutnick said, adding, “And because you have such high tariffs, do you have inflation? Of course not.” He also defended the US trade policy, emphasising the need to bring manufacturing back to America. Lutnick discussed the use of tariffs to equalise production costs and highlighted key sectors like autos, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals as targets for domestic manufacturing.