Trump expects substantial tariff cuts by India ahead of ‘Liberation Day’ deadline

US President Donald Trump claimed that India has decided to “substantially” slash tariffs on American products ahead of the April 2 deadline for reciprocal tariffs. Trump, who has described April 2 as ‘Liberation Day’ for the US in terms of imports and exports, plans to roll out reciprocal tariffs for India and other countries on Wednesday.

“A lot of them will drop their tariffs because they have been unfair on the US. The European Union has already dropped their tariffs to 2.5%. I heard a while ago that India will also be dropping its tariffs substantially,” the US President, who has previously dubbed India the “tariff king”, said.

A 25% tariff on auto imports and parts will also be collected from April 3.

Earlier in the day, the White House flagged that India charged 100% tariffs on American agricultural products.

“Unfortunately, these countries have been ripping off our nation for far too long, and they’ve made, I think, their disdain for American workers quite clear,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday.

Trump, who has repeatedly branded India a “big abuser” of trade ties, announced the move to impose reciprocal tariffs during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US in February.

So far, there is no indication that India may get a concession on the sweeping US reciprocal tariffs, a move likely to hurt the country’s exports of agricultural and pharmaceutical goods.

Sources said the government was considering lowering import duties on Harley-Davidson motorcycles, bourbon whisky, and Californian wine as the US and India concluded talks last week to determine the contours of a trade agreement.

In the Union Budget, the government proposed slashing import duties on Harley-Davidson bikes from 50% to 40%.