Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is preparing tariff reductions ahead of his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, aiming to boost American exports and prevent a potential trade standoff. The move comes as Washington signals reciprocal tariffs on multiple nations, with India under scrutiny.
Modi's visit to the United States on Wednesday and Thursday comes amid growing trade friction. Trump has previously criticized India, calling it a "very big abuser" and pushing for increased American exports, particularly in defense and security equipment.
Indian officials said New Delhi is considering tariff cuts across at least a dozen sectors, including electronics, medical devices, surgical equipment, and chemicals. Reductions in duties on dish antennas and wood pulp—products primarily sourced from the U.S.—are also being explored as part of a potential mini trade deal.
A senior official described the effort as an attempt to avoid a trade war, referencing the ongoing U.S.-China tensions, where Trump imposed 10% tariffs on Chinese goods, leading Beijing to retaliate with duties on U.S. energy exports.
India’s Trade Adjustments
New Delhi has already lowered its average import tariff from 13% to 11% in its latest budget, including reductions on high-end motorcycles and luxury cars. The government is also reviewing surcharges on more than 30 items, including solar cells and automobiles.
Despite past criticisms of India’s trade practices, Trump has maintained a cordial relationship with Modi, calling him "fantastic".
Trade and Diplomatic Relations
The United States remains India’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade exceeding $118 billion in 2023/24. India posted a $32 billion surplus, a key issue in Washington’s trade agenda.
While the upcoming talks will center on trade, defense, and technology cooperation, discussions have been overshadowed by recent deportations of Indian nationals from the U.S. Officials say the meeting will provide political direction, with detailed trade negotiations expected to follow.
As the U.S. increasingly views India as a strategic counterbalance to China, the strength of economic ties will be closely watched in both Washington and New Delhi.
The Israeli military says one of the four bodies handed over by Hamas overnight does not belong to an Israeli hostage, raising tensions over the cease...
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth’s plane made an emergency landing in the United Kingdom after a crack appeared in the aircraft’s windshield d...
The European Union plans to make its “drone wall” fully operational by 2027 under a new Defence Readiness Roadmap, which outlines ambitious milita...
Transit flows through Central Asian countries have increased by 70% between 2020 and 2024, according to the Eurasian Development Bank’s Transport Pr...
More than 200 electric buses from China have arrived in Tashkent as part of Uzbekistan’s plan to modernise its public transport system and cut carbo...
Transit flows through Central Asian countries have increased by 70% between 2020 and 2024, according to the Eurasian Development Bank’s Transport Projects Observatory.
More than 200 electric buses from China have arrived in Tashkent as part of Uzbekistan’s plan to modernise its public transport system and cut carbon emissions.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Moscow on Wednesday that the United States and its allies would "impose costs on Russia for its continued aggression" if the war in Ukraine does not come to an end.
Kenya's veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga, who was imprisoned multiple times while fighting one-party autocracy and ran five times unsuccessfully for president, died aged 80 on Wednesday in India.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
Authorities in California have identified the dismembered body discovered in a Tesla registered to singer D4vd as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been missing from Lake Elsinore since April 2024.
A tsunami threat was issued in Chile after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Drake Passage on Friday. The epicenter was located 135 miles south of Puerto Williams on the north coast of Navarino Island.
The war in Ukraine has reached a strategic impasse, and it seems that the conflict will not be solved by military means. This creates a path toward one of two alternatives: either a “frozen” phase that can last indefinitely or a quest for a durable political regulation.
Top U.S. officials on Wednesday criticised China’s expansion of rare earth export controls, warning it threatens global supply chains, though they said Beijing could still reverse course to avoid U.S. retaliation.
Britain has imposed new sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft, along with 51 shadow fleet tankers, in an effort to tighten energy restrictions and cut Kremlin revenue supporting the war in Ukraine.
The Israeli military says one of the four bodies handed over by Hamas overnight does not belong to an Israeli hostage, raising tensions over the ceasefire deal and aid deliveries to Gaza.
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth’s plane made an emergency landing in the United Kingdom after a crack appeared in the aircraft’s windshield during his return flight from a NATO meeting in Belgium.
The European Union plans to make its “drone wall” fully operational by 2027 under a new Defence Readiness Roadmap, which outlines ambitious military capability goals but offers little on how they will be financed.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment