Trump's 50% tariff deadline for India ends, additional penalties now imposed

PM Modi had referred to the US tariffs, asserting that India would withstand external pressure. The deadline for the additional 25% duties has ended.

With President Donald Trump's deadline for additional duties having ended, India is now officially charged 50 per cent duties by the US on imports. Additional 25 per cent tariffs, on top of the 25 per cent imposed earlier, was announced by Trump earlier this month.

File photo: US President Donald Trump meets with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House in Washington in February (REUTERS)

The additional tariffs were announced as a penalty for India buying oil from Russia, a move that India has repeatedly called “unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable.”

On Monday, the US Department of Homeland Security issued a draft notice outlining plans to implement a 50 per cent tariff on products from India. With steep tariffs on India, Trump hopes to pressure his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin into ending the war against Ukraine by trying to curb Moscow's oil trade.

Key updates on US’s 50% tariffs on India:

• Donald Trump's 50 per cent tariffs on Indian imports have come into force as the deadline ended at 9:31 am IST on August 27. Earlier, the US Department of Homeland Security published a draft notice saying the higher duties would apply to Indian products “entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption".
• Indian exporters braced for a decline in orders from the US after the latter decide to go ahead with the 50 per cent tariffs. However, such exporters may receive financial aid and be asked to explore markets such as China, Latin America, and the Middle East, an official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his address in Ahmedabad on Monday, referred to the US tariffs and said that India would withstand external pressure. He also assured the public that the interests of farmers, cattle-rearers and small-scale industries remain his priority.
• “For Modi, the interests of farmers, cattle rearers, and small-scale industries are paramount. Pressure on us may increase, but we will bear it all,” he said.
• During another address in Gujarat on Tuesday, PM Modi re-emphasised his push to go “swadeshi” and said, “My definition of swadeshi is simple. I do not have any concern about whose money it is—whether it is dollars or pounds, or where it comes from.... What matters is that the sweat and the hard work should be Indian.”
• The United States’ tariffs on India are coming into effect after five rounds of trade negotiations over several months in which both the parties failed to secure a trade deal. While most exports will be hit by US tariffs, exceptions include shipments that are in transit, humanitarian aid, and items under reciprocal trade programmes, reported Reuters.
• Other Indian products that are exempt from the 50 per cent US tariff include goods made of iron and steel, aluminium and copper, as well as passenger vehicles, light trucks, and auto components. India’s pharma sector, as well as electronics (chips, mobile phones, and tablets), are exempt too.
• US President Donald Trump also issued tariff warnings to other countries on Monday if they don’t take down “digital taxes, legislation, rules, or regulations”. Without naming any country, Trump said that he is putting nations with such taxes and regulations “on notice” and threatened “substantial additional tariffs” on them.
• In a heavily worded post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “Digital Taxes, Digital Services Legislation, and Digital Markets Regulations are all designed to harm, or discriminate against, American Technology. They also, outrageously, give a complete pass to China's largest Tech Companies. This must end, and end NOW! With this TRUTH, I put all Countries with Digital Taxes, Legislation, Rules, or Regulations, on notice that unless these discriminatory actions are removed, I, as President of the United States, will impose substantial additional Tariffs on that Country's Exports to the U.S.A., and institute Export restrictions on our Highly Protected Technology and Chips.”
• On Monday, August 25, just days ahead of Trump’s tariff deadline, senior Indian and US officials discussed cooperation in key areas such as trade and investment, energy security, counter-terrorism and the signing of a new 10-year framework for the Major Defence Partnership at a virtual meeting amid a downturn in bilateral ties, reported Hindustan Times.