Donald Trump says planning to impose tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada. What about India?

Trump may put a 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada and an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports till the Chinese government curbs fentanyl smuggling

US President-Elect Donald Trump, who will take oath on January 20, has announced plans to impose tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada, but not on India so far.

US President-elect Donald Trump takes the stage following early results from the 2024 U.S. presidential election in Palm Beach County Convention Center, in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S (Callaghan O'Hare/Reuters)

This comes after Trump had labelled India a “very big [trade] abuser,” during his campaign.

These tariffs are part of an effort to bring manufacturing jobs back to the US and also as a leverage for trade negotiations, according to an Indian Express report.

An example of the impact tariffs could have on India could be how India once used to be the biggest beneficiary of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme, which allowed tariff-free exports worth approximately $5.7 billion to the US. However, India lost access to this in 2019.

The report cited a Bernstein Research note stating that a Trump presidency could have only “limited” benefits for India while it can negatively impact China.

Mexico, China, and Canada are three US trading partners most exposed to Trump's potential policy changes, with India ranked only 8th, according to the report which cited the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

For Mexico and Canada, Trump claimed he would sign an executive order imposing a 25% tariff on all goods.

For China, things are a little different. Trump claimed he would impose an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports until the Chinese government curbs the smuggling of synthetic opioid fentanyl to the US through Mexico.

“I have had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular fentanyl, being sent into the United States – but to no avail," the report quoted Trump as having said on Tuesday. “Representatives of China told me they would enforce their maximum penalty, including the death sentence, for any drug dealers caught doing this, but unfortunately, they never followed through.”