- US imposed 50% tariffs on many Indian products, doubling the previous 25% duty
- Tariffs will set back US-India relations, NATO advisor Krystle Kaul says
- Exports worth Rs 45,000 crore from India, especially Bengal, will be affected
The latest US tariffs on Indian imports will be a setback for the relationship between Washington and New Delhi-- built painstakingly over the past two decades of bipartisan efforts, including during President Donald Trump's own first term, according to Krystle Kaul, advisor to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). US tariffs of 50 per cent took effect on Wednesday on many Indian products, doubling an existing 25 per cent duty.
Trump has linked the new levies to India's purchase of Russian oil, which he claims is a key source of revenue for Moscow's war in Ukraine.
"It will set back relations between India and the US, which have taken so many decades to rebuild," Kaul said while talking to news agency PTI.
She called the imposition of tariffs as Trump's power move and said the duties are "going to impact businesses... particularly in textile and handicraft goods."
She opined that the move needs to be "overturned immediately" or it could take "years to rebuild" the ties.
"This is very much a directive. This is not how the US government feels. This is not how many democratic regimes feel towards India," Kaul, a democrat, added.
According to trade estimates, the move will impact at least Rs 45,000 crore worth of Indian exports, with Bengal among the "hardest-hit" states.
"Labour-intensive industries are under severe pressure. In marine exports, the maximum of Bengal's annual shipments may collapse," Yogesh Gupta, regional chairman (east) of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) and a leading marine exporter, told PTI.
The state accounts for 12 per cent of India's seafood exports, dominated by prawn varieties cultivated in North and South 24-Parganas and Purba Medinipur district.
Trump's India Tariffs
While Trump, in his second term, has slapped fresh duties on allies and competitors alike, the 50 per cent level on India is among the highest that US trading partners face. The United States was India's top export destination in 2024, with shipments worth $87.3 billion.
Crucially, however, exemptions remain for sectors that could be hit with separate levies -- like pharmaceuticals and computer chips. Smartphones, steel, aluminium and automobiles are in the list of exempted products as well. Team Trump has launched investigations into these and other sectors that could culminate in further duties.
The new tariffs threaten thousands of small exporters and jobs across India. According to trade estimates, the move will impact at least Rs 45,000 crore worth of Indian exports, with Bengal among the "hardest-hit" states.
"Labour-intensive industries are under severe pressure. In marine exports, the maximum of Bengal's annual shipments may collapse," Yogesh Gupta, regional chairman (east) of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) and a leading marine exporter, told PTI.
The state accounts for 12 per cent of India's seafood exports, dominated by prawn varieties cultivated in North and South 24-Parganas and Purba Medinipur district.
"Out of the current total exports of Rs 8,000 crore to the US from West Bengal, marine shipments worth at least Rs 5,000-6,000 crore from the state are on direct hit," Seafoods Exporters Association of India (East) chairman Rajarshi Banerji said.
Gupta warned that around 7,000-10,000 jobs in processing units, and many more at the farm level, are at risk as states like Andhra Pradesh will begin to compete with Bengal in non-US markets.
India's Stand
New Delhi has criticised Washington's move as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable." India is looking to cushion the blow, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi promising to lower the taxes in his Independence Day speech.
PM Modi earlier vowed self-reliance as well, pledging to defend New Delhi's interests.
