The so-called reciprocal tariffs imposed by the United States on several countries took effect on Wednesday.

India’s benchmark stock indices fell about 0.4% as trading began on Wednesday morning. The Sensex had fallen by about 200 points as of 9.45 am. The Nifty 50 had dipped about 82 points.

Washington imposed “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of countries, including a 26% “discounted” levy on India. The new tariffs were announced by US President Donald Trump on April 2.

Trump also announced a 10% minimum tariff on most goods imported into the country, which took effect on Saturday. The US government imposed a 25% tariff on all foreign-made automobiles, which took effect on April 3.

Trump had repeatedly said he intended to impose a reciprocal tax on India, among others, citing high tariffs the countries impose on foreign goods. He has already imposed tariffs on a range of products from Canada, Mexico and China.

Trump said on Tuesday that his administration will soon announce a tariff on pharmaceutical imports to the US. India is among the largest suppliers of medicines to the US.

The tariffs have led to concerns of a broader trade war that could disrupt the global economy and trigger recession.

A day after the tariffs plan was announced, New York-based financial services firm JPMorgan revised its odds for a global recession by the end of 2025 from 40% to 60%. Financial services firm Goldman Sachs has raised the probability of a recession in the US to 45% in the next 12 months from the current 35%.

Trump had planned 34% tariffs on Chinese products in addition to the 20% rate imposed in March. However, he vowed to add another 50% levies after China announced its own 34% counter tariffs on American goods. This brought the additional tariffs rate on Chinese goods to 104%.

Also read: Opinion: What India should do as it faces the Trump tsunami

India planning to cut tariffs, claims US official

US trade representative Jamieson Greer claimed that India was among several countries that was planning to lower tariffs it imposes on the country, ANI reported.

“Companies have announced $4 trillion into investments in the United States,” Greer was quoted as having told the Senate Finance Committee. “Nearly 50 countries have approached me personally to discuss the president's new policy and explore how to achieve reciprocity. And they’ve spoken with many members of the administration.”

Greer claimed: “Several of these, such as Argentina, Vietnam, India and Israel, have suggested that they will reduce their tariffs and non-tariff barriers in line with the President’s policy.”

The Indian government has not commented on the claims so far but had said on April 4 that it is “carefully examining the implications of the various measures” related to new tariffs announced by the US.

India and the US are holding talks to finalise the structure of the proposed bilateral trade agreement.

On March 10, New Delhi told a parliamentary panel that it was yet to make any commitments to Washington on tariffs and has sought time until September to address the matter.

Despite this, Trump had claimed on March 31 that India had agreed to drop the tariffs it imposes on his country “very substantially”.

On Sunday, Trump said that he will not back down on the tariffs on imports from most of the world unless countries even out their trade with the US.

The tariffs plan triggered a global selloff in the stock markets on Monday. The Indian stock markets witnessed one of their worst falls in 10 months. With this, investor wealth of about 13.5 lakh crore was wiped out.

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