Overview

• Tariffs took effect on August 27, with U.S. Customs notices specifying the 50% rate on Indian goods entered for consumption from that date, covering a large share of labor‑intensive exports such as garments, gems and seafood.
• New Delhi is expediting an Export Promotion Mission and considering liquidity support for exporters, keeping informal channels with Washington open while postponing formal trade talks and ruling out immediate retaliation.
• Exporter groups report canceled orders, production halts and layoffs risk in hubs like Tiruppur, the rupee hit a record low, and analysts estimate growth could be cut by roughly 0.6–1.2 percentage points depending on the model.
• Top U.S. officials including Kevin Hassett, Peter Navarro and Scott Bessent publicly linked the penalty to India’s Russian crude purchases and criticized New Delhi’s stance, while India called the duties unfair and defended its energy security choices.
• Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said India will diversify markets and pursue FTAs, citing progress with Oman and interest from Qatar and Saudi Arabia, as officials signal a trade deal cannot be finalized while the additional levy remains in place.