NEW DELHI (Diya TV) — India made a statement Thursday that it is seriously weighing the implications of the recent move by the United States to impose a 27% tariff on imports from India. New Delhi is still on course, however, to continue with the negotiations on a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement with Washington.

The United States government, led by President Donald Trump, signed an executive order on Wednesday that put a baseline 10% tariff on all imports, plus extra “reciprocal” tariffs on some countries. India is one of the countries that will be hit, with a 27% tariff rate that will be in effect from April 9.

India’s Commerce Department responded that it is “carefully studying the implications” of the action and is actively interacting with home industry and exporters to identify the likely effect. The department assured that it will work out the opportunities which could arise from this change in U.S. trade policy.

The two countries have been holding frequent talks to ink a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement under the ‘Mission 500’ program, under which the bilateral trade is to be doubled to $500 billion by 2030. The talks are aimed at increasing supply chain connectivity, investments, and technology transfers.

America is India’s leading trading partner and is responsible for about 18% of Indian goods exports as well as having a goods trade surplus of $35.32 billion during the 2023-24 budget year. Important Indian exports to America are pharma, communications equipment, and precious stones and important American exports to India are crude oil, coal, and electric machinery. Following the imposition of the new tariff, Indian share markets experienced mild losses. 

The Nifty 50 index decreased by 0.35% to 23,250.1, and the BSE Sensex dipped 0.42% to 76,295.36 at the bell. Information technology sector shares suffered the most, with the Nifty IT index decreasing by 4.2%, the steepest two-year fall. Shares in the drug industry were, however, in the plus column, benefiting from the exemption from the tariffs.

The Trump administration’s tariff policy has been met with a mixed response globally. Although some nations have shown intentions to respond with retaliation, India has been adopting a cautious stance, emphasizing ongoing talks and negotiations to address trade imbalances and foster mutual economic progress.