Get ready for a global trade plot twist! On Tuesday, a fresh 25% punitive tariff on Indian goods landed in the U.S., pushing total duties to a staggering 50%. 🤯
Washington defended the move by pointing to India’s imports of Russian oil, but New Delhi condemned it as politically driven and economically damaging. In a bid to soften the blow, New Delhi has pledged aid packages to support exporters affected by the hike. 💪
These hefty duties will hit around $48.2 billion worth of exports, according to the Indian government. Economists at Capital Economics warn this could shave off roughly 0.8 percentage points from India’s economic growth this year and next – a real headache for a nation chasing high-growth targets. 📉
Ajay Srivastava, founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative, calls the tariffs a "strategic shock" that could trigger large-scale job losses in key export hubs and weaken India’s role in global supply chains.
Exporters are already feeling the squeeze. Pankaj Chadha, chairman of the Engineering Export Promotion Council, tells us shipments of affected goods could tumble by 20% to 30%. And individual businesses, like Shamim Azad’s, have been told by American clients to halt production until the tariff issue clears up. Many factories heavily reliant on U.S. orders have already shut their gates. ⚙️🚪
As tensions mount, all eyes will be on how relief measures roll out in India and whether U.S. buyers eventually return. For now, exporters and policymakers are bracing for impact in a trade standoff that’s rippling across markets. 🌍
Reference(s):
U.S. punitive tariffs on India take effect; New Delhi pledges aid
cgtn.com
