Trump to Impose Reciprocal Tariffs on India and Other Countries from April 2

US President Donald Trump announced that reciprocal tariffs will be implemented on countries including India from April 2 2025. He defended his harsh tariffs policy in his first address of his second term in a joint session of the Congress.

Trump said, ” Under the Trump administration, you will pay a tariff and in some cases a rather large one. Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades and now it’s our turn to start using them against those other countries. On average the European Union China, Brazil India Mexico and Canada have you heard of them and countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them. It’s very unfair. India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100 percent.”

Reciprocal Tariffs from April 2025

The concept of reciprocal tariff was explained by US President Donald Trump in his address. He said, “Whatever they tariff us, we will tariff them. Whatever they tax us, we will tax them. If they use non-monetary barriers to keep us out of their market, we will do the same.”

He added that this was part of his vision of making America rich again as this move will help create trillions of dollars in terms of economic growth, which will also aid in creating many jobs.

President Trump humorously said that the tariffs were originally to be implemented on April 1, but was deliberately moved to April 2. He said, “I wanted to make it April 1st, but I didn’t want to be accused of April Fool’s Day. That’s not — this one day was — cost us a lot of money. But we’re going to do it in April. I’m a very superstitious person. April 2nd, reciprocal tariffs kick in. And whatever they tariff us, other countries, we will tariff them.”

Implications

This announcement has raised concerns about the potential disruptions to the growing trade relationship between India and the United States. Currently, India’s tariff rates, particularly in sectors such as agriculture, textiles, and pharmaceuticals, are significantly higher than those of the US.

Some of the experts have predicted that the implementation of reciprocal tariffs could disproportionately affect India. According to a recent Goldman Sachs report, the impact could be felt at the country level, product level, or through non-tariff barriers.

One of the main areas of focus could be the automotive sector, which Trump specifically mentioned, along with other industries such as agriculture and electronics.

Indian officials and business leaders are closely monitoring the situation, with some hoping that ongoing negotiations might soften the impact of these tariffs. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal’s recent trip to the United States to meet with the new United States Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, underscores India’s proactive approach to addressing these trade concerns.

As the 2 April deadline approaches, the global community will wait with bated breath to see how nations will respond to the new US trade policy.