U.S. DECLARES TRADE WAR

Trump announces punitive levies on 60 countries; imposes 27% tariff on all goods imports from India

- Rezaul H Laskar

NEW DELHI: The Donald Trump administration on Thursday slapped a "discounted reciprocal tariff" of 27% on all goods imports from India as part of punitive measures by the US against some 60 countries for purportedly having the most unfair trade barriers against American products. The reciprocal tariff will be on top of existing import duties in the case of most products.

As part of his so-called "Liberation Day" measures to balance trade with countries around the world and to boost manufacturing within America, President Trump announced a "baseline" 10% tariff on all US imports, with higher reciprocal levies on goods from the 60 countries that were specifically targeted, including India, China, Japan, the UK and European Union (EU) member states. The tariffs ranged from 10% on countries such as the UK and Australia to 34% on China, 26% on South Korea, and a high of 50% on Lesotho.

While a chart displayed by Trump during his speech said India would be hit with a 26% "discounted reciprocal tariff", India's commerce ministry (as well as the annexure in the US announcement) said in a statement that the additional duty according to the US Executive Order is 27%.

In a rambling speech announcing the tariffs at the Rose Garden of the White House, Trump said the "discounted reciprocal tariff" for the countries being specifically targeted was exactly half of the tariffs charged by these nations, along with their "currency manipulation" and trade barriers. He described the new levies as "kind reciprocal", and "not full reciprocal", tariffs.