Three Days Before US-India Summit... Trump Ally Says "India's Import Tariffs Are Too High"

Summit Scheduled for the 13th (Local Time)
India Expected to Expand Imports of American Products
and Review Tariff Reductions on Key Items

Donald Trump's top economic advisor emphasized the principle of 'reciprocal tariffs,' stating that India's import tariffs are too high. Ahead of the summit scheduled for the 13th (local time) between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump, the Indian government has begun reviewing tariff reductions on key items along with expanding imports of American products.

Kevin Hassett, Chairman of the White House National Economic Council (NEC), pointed out in an interview with US CNBC on the 10th (local time) that India's high tariffs are blocking imports, stating, "Almost all trading partners impose tariffs much higher than ours." He specifically mentioned India and Taiwan as countries with high tariffs.

Chairman Hassett said that President Trump believes the US should impose reciprocal tariffs at least equal to those of other countries, adding, "If they lower their tariffs, we will lower ours as well."

The Indian government is preparing measures to ease the trade imbalance with the US and avoid the fallout of a trade war. President Trump officially announced the day before that starting from the 4th of next month, a 25% tariff will be imposed on all imported steel and aluminum products. He also stated that reciprocal tariffs would be announced within the next two days.

During the last presidential election, President Trump called India "a very big villain in trade" and pledged to correct the imbalance through tariffs. India recorded a trade surplus of $32 billion (approximately 46.6 trillion KRW) against the US in the 2023?2024 fiscal year.

This is also recognized within India. Bloomberg reported that India is ready to negotiate the phased removal of some retaliatory tariffs imposed in response to former President Trump's trade measures in 2019. Of the 28 items subject to retaliatory tariffs, tariffs on 8 items have been removed, but high tariffs are still applied to the remaining 20 items.

Prime Minister Modi also showed a conciliatory attitude ahead of the US-India summit. India announced a tariff reduction policy targeting the US's largest motorcycle manufacturer, Harley-Davidson, by lowering import tariffs on large motorcycles with engines over 1600cc from 50% to 30%.

The market expects that India may visit the US with a gift package including expanded purchases of American fighter jets, drones, and crude oil. According to Reuters, India is considering reducing tariffs in at least 10 sectors, including electronics, medical devices, and chemicals. India is also promoting the expansion of imports of weapons such as American armored vehicles and fighter jet engines, as well as liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi, attending the Artificial Intelligence (AI) summit held in Paris, France, is scheduled to visit Washington DC on the 12th?13th to meet with President Trump.