India’s Tariff Stance: Rejects Trump’s Claim

Aakhir Tak – In Shorts

India makes no tariff cut promise to the US: Commerce Secretary.
Trump claims: India agreed to reduce import duties significantly.
Parliamentary panel raises concerns, India denies.
India favors free trade, national interests come first.
India aims to resolve the issue by September 2025.

Aakhir Tak – In Depth

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India has firmly stated that it has made no trade tariff commitments to the US, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal told a Parliamentary panel. He refuted President Trump‘s claim that New Delhi agreed to significantly slash import duties on American products. This highlights India‘s current tariff policy and negotiations.

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal informed a Parliamentary panel on Monday that India has made no commitments on trade tariff reductions to the United States. Barthwal’s statement came in response to US President Donald Trump’s recent assertion that India has agreed to bring its tariffs “way down”. The situation is being closely watched.

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Briefing the Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs, the Commerce Secretary clarified that negotiations between India and the US were still ongoing and that no trade agreement had been finalised. India and the US continue to discuss trade.

With several members of the Parliament panel raising concerns over Donald Trump‘s recent claim of India having agreed to reduce tariffs, Barthwal said, “One cannot go by the US President’s claims and on media reports as the bilateral trade agreement talks between the two nations are still on. India has not committed to anything on trade tariffs to the US”. This disagreement over tariffs is a key issue.

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Furthermore, the bureaucrat also asserted that the interests of India would be taken care of during the trade negotiations.

“India was in favour of free trade and wanted liberalization of trade, which will help increase trade between the two countries,” news agency PTI sources quoted Barthwal as saying.

He asserted that while India supports trade expansion, a tariff war does not serve anyone’s interest and could “even trigger a recession”. Such a war could impact the global economy.

“India will not indiscriminately lower tariffs, especially in sectors crucial to its domestic economy. India prefers to negotiate tariff reductions bilaterally rather than multilaterally to ensure national interests are upheld,” Barthwal told the committee. This stance is significant for national economic stability.

Addressing comparisons with Canada and Mexico, which have actively challenged US tariff policies, Barthwal noted that their situations were different due to security and border immigration concerns with the US. He reaffirmed that India will only sign a trade agreement that is “mutually beneficial”.

WHAT TRUMP SAID? Just weeks into his second term, Trump has shaken global trade, imposing tariffs on allies and adversaries alike. Accusing all trading partners of ‘unfair’ practices, he has announced sweeping reciprocal tariffs set to take effect next month including on India.

Last week, Trump renewed his criticism of India‘s “massive tariffs”, calling New Delhi’s trade policies restrictive.

“You can’t sell anything into India, it is almost restrictive. They have agreed, by the way, they want to cut their tariffs way down now because somebody is finally exposing them for what they have done,” Trump had said. These comments have been met with skepticism.

Meanwhile, reports suggest that India has sought time until September 2025 to resolve the issue repeatedly raised by the American President. India‘s strategic approach involves patience.

Aakhir Tak – Key Takeaways to Remember