New Delhi: US President Donald Trump has announced new high tariffs of over 25 percent on many imports from India. But for now, important Indian products like smartphones, laptops, and medicines are not included in these tariffs. This is good news for Indian exporters because these items are worth more than USD 25 billion and make up a large part of India’s exports to the US.
In the financial year 2024-25, India sent about USD 14.6 billion worth of electronic goods and USD 10.5 billion worth of medicines to the US. Together, that is nearly 30 percent of all Indian exports to America.
Trump said these goods are currently exempt, but there is a threat that tariffs on medicines could go up to 200 percent, and electronics might also face tariffs in the future.
Thanks to the exemption, India’s exports to the US have grown since January 2025, especially smartphones, which currently have zero import tax in the US. From January to June 2025, the US bought more than 20 percent of India’s total exports, up from the usual 17–18 percent.
In the April–June quarter of 2025-26, India’s exports to the US made up about 23 percent of all Indian exports, similar to the previous quarter. This is despite India’s overall exports growing less than 2 percent in the first quarter of this year and falling more than 4 percent in the last quarter of 2024-25.
Trump’s tariff move is partly because he thinks India’s trade rules are unfair to the US, and because India has close ties with Russia, especially in defence and energy. Trump warned there could be more penalties if India continues to buy a lot from Russia.
India’s role in the expanded BRICS group, which added five new countries in January 2024, also played a part in Trump’s decision.
Even with these issues, both countries are still talking about a trade agreement. For now, energy products like petroleum, worth over $4 billion last year, are also not affected by the tariffs.
According to government data, India’s exports to the US went up nearly 23 percent compared to last year, reaching USD 25.5 billion in the April–June 2025 period. Total trade between the two countries was USD 32.4 billion for that time, and for the whole financial year 2024-25, trade exceeded USD 86 billion.
Leave a Reply