Trump believes India will lower duties on US goods, but reciprocal tariffs are to begin April 2 

US President Donald Trump, in an interview with Breitbart News on Wednesday, said he believes India will reduce tariffs on American goods, news agency Reuters reported. “I believe they are going to probably going to be lowering those tariffs substantially, but on April 2, we will be charging them the same tariffs they charge us,” Donald Trump was quoted as saying, reported Reuters.

Tariffs and recent developments

Last week, the Centre informed Parliament that, as of now, the United States has not imposed reciprocal tariffs on India. The clarification followed Trump’s criticism of India and other nations for imposing high tariffs on American goods, calling them “very unfair.” He also announced that from April 2, the US would implement reciprocal tariffs on countries that impose levies on American products.

US memorandum on reciprocal trade

On February 13, the US issued a memorandum on reciprocal trade and tariffs, directing the commerce secretary and the US trade representative (USTR) to assess the impact of non-reciprocal trade arrangements on the US economy. They are required to investigate any potential harm and submit a report proposing remedies for each trading partner.

India, US to double two-way trade

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington last month, India and the US pledged to more than double their bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030. They also agreed to finalize the first phase of a multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by fall 2025.

In 2023, trade between the two countries reached USD 190.08 billion, comprising USD 123.89 billion in goods and USD 66.19 billion in services. India exported USD 83.77 billion worth of goods to the US while importing USD 40.12 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of USD 43.65 billion for India. From 2021 to 2024, the US emerged as India’s largest trading partner and remains one of the few nations where India maintains a trade surplus