Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he spoke to United States President Donald Trump on Thursday, adding that they “reviewed good progress achieved in trade negotiations” and agreed to stay in close touch over the coming weeks.
Indian commerce ministry officials have said that after the latest meetings of trade officials in Washington, another round of trade negotiations is expected soon in either country.
Trump imposed a 50 per cent tariff on most exports from India, among the highest for any US trading partner. The move impacts about $50 billion of Indian exports to the US, mainly hurting labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, gems and jewellery and the shrimp industry.
The tariffs were doubled on Indian goods from 25pc due to New Delhi’s continued imports of Russian oil.
Washington earlier said India’s purchase of Russian oil helped fund Moscow’s war in Ukraine and that New Delhi also profits from it. India had rejected the accusation as a double standard, pointing to US and European trade links with Russia.
To offset the impact of tariffs, Modi cut taxes on everything from shampoos to cars last month in the biggest tax overhaul since 2017, even as India continues to spend aggressively on infrastructure projects.
About one-fifth of India’s total exports in 2024 went to the United States. The new tariffs affect about three-quarters of all Indian goods exported there.
