
US tariff cut puts Indian seafood, basmati back on America’s plate
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: US President Donald Trump's decision to reduce reciprocal tariff on Indian goods, after months of trade tensions, is expected to significantly boost seafood and basmati rice exports. Industry officials said that that lower tariffs would make Indian seafood and basmati more competitive in the US market, stimulate fresh orders, and improve price realisations.
They added that the policy move could also encourage higher production, greater investment in processing capacity, and stronger income support for aquaculture farmers. Exporters said the impact of the reduced tariff will be reflected mainly in the next fiscal year, as less than two months remain in the current one. "Whatever orders exporters had in hand have already been shipped, and order books have now dried up.
In that sense, the tariff announcement has come at the right time. Given the decline in exports, it may not provide much relief this year as less than two months are left, but next fiscal year we expect exports to cross the $3-billion mark and regain nearly 36%market share," said K.N. Raghavan, Secretary General, Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI).
According to social media post by Trump, the US will reduce the reciprocal tariffs from 25% to 18%. The 25% punitive tariff that was levied for India’s Russian oil purchase is also to go—effectively reducing US tariff on India’s exports from 50% to 18%. Seafood exporters were hit harder than basmati rice exporters this year due to the onslaught of high duties.
Read on livemint.com