The White House revealed on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump would announce the imposition of “reciprocal tariffs” on India ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States.
This move is seen as an attempt to gain leverage and set a favorable tone for the U.S. during the upcoming summit with India.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that Prime Minister Modi will visit the White House on February 13 and added that the reciprocal tariffs would be announced before his visit.
Modi is scheduled to arrive in the U.S. on the same day, and a summit with Trump at the White House on Thursday is planned.
Trump has recently brought up the issue of reciprocal tariffs.
Reciprocal tariffs refer to a system in which the U.S. imposes tariffs on products from a trading partner equivalent to the tariffs the country imposes on U.S. goods.
This approach had been dormant for decades until Trump revived the policy.
Trump has previously argued that foreign countries impose various taxes on American products in addition to tariffs, and the U.S. will respond with tariffs that account for these additional costs.
Consequently, even countries like South Korea, which enjoys duty-free status on most goods under the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA), now face a higher risk of tariffs from the U.S. The U.S. may impose reciprocal tariffs on South Korean products, citing factors such as the country’s value-added tax.
During his first term, Trump had initially planned to impose a 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico despite negotiating the USMCA, a trilateral free trade agreement. He later delayed the tariffs for a month, citing ongoing negotiations.
In his second term, Trump has clarified that he intends to pursue universal tariffs on all imported goods.
