NEW DELHI: The government on Friday clarified that the United States has imposed additional duties on steel and aluminium imports from all countries without any exemptions, but no country-specific or reciprocal tariffs have been placed on India as of now.
Minister of state for commerce and industry Jitin Prasada said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha that the government is closely evaluating the impact of these duties, which represent an increase over previous tariffs.
Prasada noted that the US administration had issued a memorandum on February 13, directing officials to investigate trade imbalances and recommend remedies for each trading partner. “As on date, there has been no imposition of country-specific including reciprocal tariffs by US on India,” he said, adding that India’s government remains engaged in discussions with its US counterparts to ensure fair trade practices.
“There has been imposition of additional duties on steel and aluminium imports by US from all countries without any exemption. The impact of these duties which are an enhancement over existing such additional duties is being closely evaluated due to the fact that there are no exemptions as compared to exemptions earlier to certain major exporting countries in these sectors,” the reply added.
The reply comes amidst growing tensions over US President Donald Trump’s planned tariff hikes, which are set to escalate trade relations with several nations, including India.
Despite these new measures, the Indian government continues to engage with the US to maintain and expand bilateral trade. Prasada highlighted that both nations aim to more than double trade to $500 billion by 2030 under the “Mission 500” initiative, which will focus on reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers, increasing market access, and improving supply chain integration.
This move by the US comes in the wake of President Trump’s repeated criticisms of India’s tariff regime. Trump has previously referred to India as one of the highest tariffing nations, claiming that reciprocal tariffs would be imposed starting April 2.
Trump has made similar statements in the past, accusing India of being a “tariff king” and a “big abuser” of trade rules. In an interview with Breitbart News, Trump said, “I have a very good relationship with India, but the only problem I have with India is they’re one of the highest tariffing nations in the world.” He has also expressed his intent to impose tariffs on India equivalent to those the country charges the US, a stance he described as “an eye for an eye, a tariff for a tariff.”
