Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that for India to be called “tariff king”, is “absolutely unjustified”. Speaking to the Financial Express in an exclusive interview, the FM further explained the reason behind her bold statement.
During his first term, US President Donald Trump had called India the “tariff king.” He was quite vocal then about the high import taxes that India had placed on Harley-Davidson motorcycles and also criticised the 150% duty on American whiskey. Trump had in March had reiterated his stance and said, “India charges us massive tariffs, massive, you can’t even sell anything into India. It’s almost, it’s almost restrictive. It is restrictive. We do very little business inside.”
Sitharaman said that India currently has only eight types of import duties, including those with zero tariffs. She explained that significant tariff cuts have already been made in both the July and February budgets. Sitharaman added that the actual tariff rates are lower than what was approved by Parliament, and these are already much below the limits allowed by the World Trade Organization (WTO). Hence she said that calling India a “tariff king” is in fact not justified.
She added that while there may be room to reduce tariffs further without harming local industries, such decisions depend on detailed talks with the countries involved. “Those are the points on which the negotiators will have to work with the country concerned. So, (our) tariff being a consideration is being addressed,” Sitharaman said.
She added that sector-specific issues, such as those related to agriculture, dairy, and automobiles, are being carefully looked into. The FM also gave credit to Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal for holding extensive consultations with industry before, during, and after the trade negotiations.
Commenting on India-US trade negotiations, Sitharaman further said that she would love to have “a big, good, beautiful” agreement. She stressed that given India’s ambition to become ‘Viksit Bharat‘ by the year 2047, it is in India’s interest to reach agreements with strong countries.
When asked whether India was ready to make major concessions on non-tariff issues like intellectual property rights (IPR), data localisation, and government procurement, the FM said that the government is taking a cautious and measured approach. She pointed out that trade talks should not start by focusing on non-tariff matters.
However, she also noted that global trade discussions now often include broader topics like climate change, gender equality, sustainability, and carbon taxes.
Sitharaman said India would take carefully thought-out positions on these subjects, always keeping domestic priorities in mind. “Our domestic procurement itself is very considerate towards those sections that need hand-holding. We can’t open it up for someone without these concerns addressed,” the FM said.