

Near-zero to 50% to 18%: The tariff shock reshaping India-US trade
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: Until President Donald Trump’s return to the White House on 20 January 2025, US tariffs were largely a non-issue for Indian exporters. That low-tariff environment ended in April 2025, when Washington imposed sweeping reciprocal duties, sending the US trade-weighted average tariff into double digits for the first time in decades.
A new trade deal now marks a partial rollback, with the US on Monday saying that tariffs on Indian goods will be cut to 18%—a shift after decades in which tariff barriers between the two countries were relatively modest. “India-US trade deal will further expand and deepen trade between two of the largest economies of the world. It will create more opportunities for our labour-intensive and manufacturing sectors in the US market and give impetus to mutually-beneficial collaboration in high and advanced technology sectors," said Arvind Shrivastava, secretary, department of revenue, ministry of finance.
Before the 2025 upheaval, official data show the average US customs duty on Indian imports stood at around 2.8%, broadly stable for decades, while US goods faced a weighted average tariff of 7.7% in India. In agriculture, Indian farm exports to the US faced a 5.3% duty, whereas US farm exports to India carried 37.7%. Industrial exports to the US faced just 2.6%, compared with 5.9% for American goods entering India.
India’s own average customs duty was reduced from 11.65% to 10.66% in the Union Budget for fiscal year 2026, signalling tariff moderation to trading partners. Commerce ministry data show import duties on several high-value American products are negligible. Petroleum crude, the US’s top export to India, attracts a token duty of just ₹1 per
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