

Mint Explainer: Have India-US trade talks blunted Trump’s threat of reciprocal tariffs?
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Ahead of implementing reciprocal tariffs on major trading partners, US President Donald Trump announced another trade offensive: countries buying Venezuelan oil and gas would have to pay a 25% tariff on goods exported into the US. India is one of the buyers of Venezuelan oil but its purchases are tiny compared to those of the US and China.
It is also less than 1% of India’s total petroleum crude and product imports by value. White House introduced the punitive secondary tariff as it believes Venezuela was ‘purposefully and deceitfully’ sending criminals and murderers into the US. This tariff will come into effect on 2 April along with reciprocal tariffs on major trading partners.
Meanwhile, there are indications that the 2 April measures may not include industry-specific tariffs such as on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. Trump has said tariffs on automobiles would be announced in the next few days, possibly before 2 April. Besides, he indicated some softening in his earlier stance on reciprocal tariffs during an interaction with reporters at the White House on 24 March.
“We may give a lot of countries breaks… They charge us so much that I am embarrassed to charge them what they charged us. But it will be substantial." This likely softening of stance has given India and its exporters a glimmer of hope in terms of the severity of reciprocal tariffs that’s likely to hit them, as India imposes some of the highest protectionist taxes. The Trump administration is yet to provide some clarity on the shape and form these tariffs will take.
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