US issues draft notice to hit India with 50% tariffs

WASHINGTON: The US formally confirmed that an additional 25% import duties on Indian goods will take effect from Wednesday, bringing the total levy to 50% as President Donald Trump's punitive tariff regime over India’s Russian oil purchases comes into force.

- Shashank Mattoo

The US department of homeland security (DHS) issued a formal notification on Tuesday stating the additional levy will come into force at 12.0lam Eastern Daylight Time on August 27—9.3lam Indian Standard Time.

The notification, issued by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, confirmed the tariffs will apply to all Indian-origin goods entering the US for consumption, with limited exemptions for in-transit shipments that arrive by September 17 with proper certification.

To be sure, items such as electronics and pharmaceutical products remain exempted, accounting for an estimated 30-40% of India’s exports to the US by value. But how long these exemptions last is uncertain.

The benchmark BSE Sensex tumbled 849.37 points, or 1.04%, to close at 80,786.54. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 255.70 points, or 1.02%, to close at 24,712.05, after falling as much as 1.11%.

The rupee ended at 87.68 against the dollar, the lowest level in three weeks, against 87.58 at the previous close. It came within striking distance of its lifetime low of 87.95 hit in February.