How 'tariff king' India got off easier in Trump's trade war

Indian textile businessman Anil Buchasia is looking at a hefty tariff bill running into millions of rupees on his shipments of clothes to the US. Yet he can take some comfort in the fact that things could have been far worse.

- Nirmala Ganapathy

NEW DELHI - Indian textile businessman Anil Buchasia is looking at a hefty tariff bill running into millions of rupees on his shipments of clothes to the US. Yet he can take some comfort in the fact that things could have been far worse.

Imports from India to the US were hit with a 26 per cent tax as part of the worldwide reciprocal tariffs unleashed by US President Donald Trump on April 2.

However, this is still lower than that of India's trading rivals like China and Vietnam, which were slapped with duties of 54 per cent and 46 per cent respectively. Even India's smaller neighbours like textile powerhouse Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were harder hit, with 37 per cent and 44 per cent tariffs being imposed.

"In terms of competitiveness, India could be better placed than other countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam. To that extent, India is better insulated in the short term," Mr Buchasia told The Straits Times.

That India attracted relatively lower tariffs was all the more surprising considering Mr Trump has frequently called it a "tariff king" and "offender" for placing hefty duties on US imports and traditionally taking a protectionist stance. Not to mention that the US had a trade deficit with India of US$45.7 billion (S$61.6 billion) in 2024.

On April 2, when the tariffs were unveiled, Mr Trump even said he told Prime Minister Narendra Modi: "You're a friend of mine, but you're not treating us right."

In spite of India being repeatedly singled out, observers say it likely escaped a higher tariff because it read the room correctly and hustled early to assuage Mr Trump's concerns.

In contrast to the confrontational posture adopted by other countries like China and Canada, Mr Modi's government started rolling out trade concessions from February. This included slashing duty on US imports such as bourbon whiskey, which had levies reduced from 150 per cent to 100 per cent.