US doubles tariffs on imports from India
The Reserve Bank of India has played down the likely effect on the country’s economy of US tariff policy.
Exports from India to the US will be subject to tariffs of 50%, following an announcement by US president, Donald Trump, on August 6. He said the US would impose additional tariffs of 25% on imports from India, on top of already announced tariffs of 25%.
In response, the governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Sanjay Malhotra, said that the US tariff hike was unlikely to have a major impact on the Indian economy, unless retaliatory tariffs come into play, which he said was unlikely.
Mr Malhotra added that he remained optimistic about arriving at “an amicable solution” in India’s trade dispute with the US.
If tariff rates remain at 50%, though, they are likely to hurt India’s leather industry.
When details of steep tariffs on a wide range of trading partners began to emerge from the US in April, the Indian leather industry said the US accounted for more than 20% of its total export revenues of $4 billion per year.
