The U.S. has imposed high tariffs, notably a 50% duty implemented in August 2025, which significantly impact India’s marine exports. File image used for representation.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The U.S. has imposed high tariffs, notably a 50% duty implemented in August 2025, which significantly impact India’s marine exports. File image used for representation.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Representational file image.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

File picture of U.S. Chief negotiator Brendan Lynch (centre, talking). Picture: X/@USIBC

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The U.S. has asked G7 countries to impose tariffs on countries purchasing oil from Russia, asserting that only “unified efforts” that cut off funding to Moscow’s war machine at source can apply sufficient pressure to end “the senseless killing.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the United States Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer were on a call with G7 Finance Ministers on Friday (September 12, 2025) when they reiterated President Donald Trump’s call to the bloc’s partners about imposing tariffs on countries purchasing oil from Russia.

François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s Minister of Finance and National Revenue, chaired a meeting of G7 Finance Ministers to discuss further measures to increase pressure on Russia to end its war against Ukraine.

G7 is an intergovernmental bloc of rich, industrialised countries comprising the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the U.K. Canada is the head of the rolling G7 presidency this year.

“During today’s call with G7 Finance Ministers, Secretary Bessent reiterated President Trump’s call to our G7 partners that, if they are truly committed to ending the war in Ukraine, they should join the United States in imposing tariffs on countries purchasing oil from Russia,” a U.S. Treasure Department statement said after the call.

The statement did not name any country. But the U.S. has often blamed India and China for purchasing Russian oil even when there are no tariffs on Beijing for it.

“Only with a unified effort that cuts off the revenues funding (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s war machine at the source will we be able to apply sufficient economic pressure to end the senseless killing,” said Secretary Bessent and Ambassador Greer.

“Thanks to President Trump’s bold leadership, the United States has already taken dramatic action against the purchasers of Russian oil. We are encouraged by the assurances of our fellow G7 nations that they are committed to ending this war, and we are hopeful that they will join us in taking decisive action at this critical time,” the statement added.

The U.S. has doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50%, including a 25% additional duty for India’s purchase of Russian crude oil, an action that New Delhi has described as “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable.”

India has been maintaining that its energy procurement, including buying oil from Russia, is driven by national interest and market dynamics.

India and the U.S. have been negotiating a bilateral trade agreement since March. So far, five rounds of negotiations have been completed.

For the sixth round, the U.S. team, which was to visit India last month, deferred its visit due to the imposition of a 50% tariff on Indian goods by Washington.

Trade relations between the two countries have been strained due to the high tariffs. The two countries had earlier announced plans to conclude the first phase of the India-U.S. bilateral trade agreement by the fall of 2025.

A statement from Champagne said, “Russia’s increasingly aggressive stance, including recent bombings in Ukraine and Wednesday’s violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones, and its unwillingness to agree to a ceasefire have prompted this G7 meeting.”

Canada, as part of its G7 Presidency, remains committed to working closely with G7 allies to increase pressure on Russia and support Ukraine’s long-term security and recovery, he said in the statement posted on X.

“G7 Ministers agreed to accelerate discussions to further use immobilised Russian sovereign assets to fund Ukraine’s defence, and to explore other mechanisms that would allow further increasing financial support to Ukraine,” it added.

Secretary Bessent and Ambassador Greer also welcomed commitments to increase sanctions pressure and explore using immobilised Russian sovereign assets to further benefit Ukraine’s defence, it said.

On Friday, President Trump, when asked in an interview with ‘Fox and Friends’ what clamping down on his Russian counterpart entails, said: “Look, India was their biggest customer. I put a 50% tariff on India because they’re buying oil from Russia. That’s not an easy thing to do. That’s a big deal and it causes a rift with India.”

Published – September 13, 2025 03:08 pm IST

Indian businesses are in a “cosy comfort zone” created by the presence of a 1.4 billion-person domestic market, and need to find opportunities globally, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday (August 30, 2025).

In the comments that come amid deep concerns about the impact of high U.S. tariffs on the Indian economy, Mr. Goyal asked India Inc not to get carried away by any “negative narrative” and reminded that the country’s GDP growth has accelerated to 7.8% in June.

Even as it braces for the impact of the U.S.’s tariff moves, Mr. Goyal exuded confidence that the overall exports will grow this year and also pointed out that over $46 billion of the $87 billion exports to the U.S. are unaffected by the tariff moves.

The high growth shown by the official data on Friday (August 29, 2025) did not surprise anybody in the government, Mr. Goyal said, adding that the performance is a “resounding response” to naysayers and pessimists like Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, economists and certain sections of the media.

“India is full of resilience, confidence and is raring to continue to be the fastest growing economy for the next 22 years. India will continue to power on. Our exports will continue to grow, we will do higher exports this year than last year and the future is extremely bright,” Mr. Goyal told PTI Videos on the sidelines of an event in Mumbai.

Speaking at the India-UAE Business interaction organised by industry lobby grouping CII here, Mr. Goyal acknowledged that the domestic market is one of the biggest drivers of growth and also spoke candidly on the industry’s role.

“I often feel the large 1.4 billion domestic market has become somewhat a cosy comfort zone in which our businesses make good profit and don’t venture out to look at opportunities around the world,” he said.

Mr. Goyal said the amount of value addition being done by the Indian industry is very low, pointing out how the country is a seller of rice but not rice puffs or ready-to-eat food products, or how it is an iron ore seller but not a high-quality steel exporter.

Citing the case of the fashion industry, where he rued the lack of presence of Indian clothing in high street clothing, Mr. Goyal underlined the need to brand India differently.

Stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has instructed him to “trust” both businesses and people, he said the government is keen to work with the industry to solve any obstacles and eager to hear from the businesses.

“Ask for help. Give us your support. Don’t lose out this opportunity. Put pressure on us,” he told the captains of the industry.

On the U.S. tariff impacts, Mr. Goyal said the move by President Donald Trump’s administration should not deter us and asked all to pull up their socks. The U.S. has imposed a 50% tariff on Indian goods, impacting sectors such as textiles and apparel, gems and jewellery, shrimp, leather, and others.

Of the impacted sectors, he said the value add done by the Indian gems and jewellery sector is a low 3% to 4% but acknowledged that we will have to work hard to minimise the impact in the textiles and shrimps exports.

Mr. Goyal said he got on a call with industrialist Noel Tata, who runs the popular Zudio and Westside chains, after the U.S. tariff move and has requested the company to pick-up the U.S. tariffs-impacted goods for sale in local market at a discount till alternative markets are found.

Stating that India always shines in adversity, Mr. Goyal listed out a slew of trade agreements which the government is negotiating currently with the purpose of diversifying the trade basket, and added that the 7.8% GDP growth should serve as a “morale booster”.

Citing the alleged abuse meted out to the Prime Minister in Bihar, Mr. Goyal said, “Such persons truly hurt the India story. But I wish Indian industry would not get carried away by this negative narrative.”.

Mr. Goyal said it is unfortunate that all those who deride their own motherland and the pessimists do not understand simple elementary economics, and reminded them that the export contribution is very low in India, which is primarily a domestically driven economy.

He also affirmed the government’s commitment to reform and do all that is necessary to spur growth, and hoped that the decision coming out of the GST Council meet will be a “sane” one that will give a boost to the domestic demand.

“I can promise you, you (industry) are all going to be immensely pleased after the GST Council meeting,” he added.

Meanwhile, speaking at the same event, the UAE’s Minister for Foreign Trade, Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi assured that the Gulf nation and India will always be together irrespective of the changes in the world trade order.

“No matter how the world and the partners are dealing with each other, and they’re changing their policies and changing their position against each other, the UAE and India will always be together,” he said.

Published – August 31, 2025 06:07 am IST

India’s shrimp export volume is headed to fall 15-18% this fiscal with the U.S. raising tariff to 58.26% with effect from August 27, CRISIL Ratings said in a note. 

“Realisations would fall, too, even as exporters look to change their product mix and scout for alternative export destinations,” it said 

“Thus, revenues, which were stagnant for the past four fiscals, will decline 18-20% on-year this fiscal despite some cushion from a surge in shipments in the first quarter in anticipation of the tariff hike. In fiscal 2025, India exported around $5 billion of shrimps, with the U.S. accounting for around 48% of this,” the rating agency said. 

The lower revenues, coupled with the inability to pass on the tariff burden to customers, will erode the operating profit margin by 150-200 basis points. The combination of lower revenues and subdued margins will weaken the debt protection metrics of players. Consequently, their credit profiles will come under pressure, it said. 

“An analysis of 63 shrimp exporters rated by us, accounting for 55% of the industry revenues, indicates as much,” it added. 

The U.S. has long been a preferred destination for shrimp exporters because of easy market access, higher growth prospects, better profit margin and repeat customer approvals. It continued to be a preferred destination despite anti-dumping and countervailing duties, and the recent reciprocal tariff of 10% in April 2025, as customers absorbed a portion of the tariff.

“However, the increase in tariffs to over 50% puts India at a significant competitive disadvantage against other nations such as Ecuador, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, most of which have tariffs less than half that of India. As a result, India’s shrimp exports to the US will become unviable and the export volume will plunge during the rest of this fiscal,” CRISIL said. 

Indian shrimp exporters enjoy the advantage of an evolved domestic infrastructure and strong distribution networks in the US, while production in other countries is not expected to rise substantially in the near term. 

“The ability of Indian processors to divert their shrimp exports to alternative markets such as the U.K. (due to the India-UK free trade agreement), China and Russia will support volume to some extent in the second half of this fiscal,” it said.

Rahul Guha, Senior Director, CRISIL Ratings said, “The headwinds will impact processors and discourage farmers from continuing to invest in shrimp culture. Farmers incur upfront costs for land lease, seed and feed.”

“Additionally, investments in equipment for aeration, electricity and overall pond management and biosecurity have substantially raised the production cost. To boot, the risk of diseases, reduced harvests and unprofitable global prices have been forcing farmers to look at alternative cultures that entail lower investments and limited risks,” he said. 

“This process will accelerate because of the impact of tariffs. Consequently, diversification of exports and increasing domestic consumption in the long run will be crucial to the viability of shrimp farming,” he added.

Falling business volume will also cause operating margin to plunge to its decadal low of 5.0-5.5% this fiscal. This will be due to three reasons: the impact of the tariff plus levies, lower capacity utilisation due to loss of revenue and shrinking sale of value-added and large shrimps, which were mostly exported to the U.S. and fetched higher revenues and margin.

Debt protection metrics will moderate on lower profitability even as working capital debt reduces on lower business volume, according to CRISIL. 

Himank Sharma, Director, CRISIL Ratings, “The credit profiles of shrimp exporters focused on the US market will face further challenges after two sluggish years.”

“The interest coverage of players rated by us is likely to moderate to 3.3 times this fiscal from 4.8 times last fiscal as the profit margin compresses. The financial leverage, however, is expected to remain stable at 0.5 time,” he added. 

Published – August 29, 2025 12:48 pm IST

India is planning dedicated outreach programmes in 40 countries, including the UK, Japan, and South Korea, to push textiles exports amid a 50% tariff imposed by the U.S. on Indian products, an official said on Wednesday.

Other nations include Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, Canada, Mexico, Russia, Belgium, Turkiye, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia.

“In each of these 40 markets, this is proposed to pursue a targeted approach, positioning itself as a reliable supplier of quality, sustainable, and innovative textile products with the lead role of the Indian industry, including EPCs and Indian Missions in these countries,” the official said.

India already exports to over 220 countries, but the 40 importing countries hold the real key to diversification.

Together, these 40 countries represent more than $590 billion in textile and apparel imports, offering vast opportunities for India to enhance its market share, which currently stands at only around 5-6%, the official said.

-PTI

Apex exporters body FIEO on Tuesday (August 26, 2025) expressed serious concerns over high U.S. tariffs on Indian goods and said that textiles and apparel manufacturers in Tirupur, Noida, and Surat have halted production amid worsening cost competitiveness due to these steep duties.

The U.S. duties on Indian goods will increase to 50% from August 27.

The move will severely disrupt the flow of Indian goods to its largest export market, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President S C Ralhan said.

He described the development as a setback and stated that it can severely impact India’s exports to the U.S., with about 55% of India’s US-bound shipments (worth $47-48 billion) now exposed to pricing disadvantages of 30-35%, rendering them uncompetitive in comparison to its competitors from China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines and other Southeast and South Asian countries.

“FIEO expresses grave concern over the US government’s imposition of an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian-origin goods – raising total duties on many export categories up to 50 per cent, effective from August 27, 2025,” he said, adding that “textiles and apparel manufacturers in Tirupur, Noida, and Surat have halted production amid worsening cost competitiveness”.

This sector is losing ground to lower-cost rivals from Vietnam and Bangladesh, Ralhan said.

Labour-intensive export sectors such as leather, shrimp, ceramics, chemicals, handicrafts, and carpets would face a sharp erosion of competitiveness, particularly against European, Southeast and Mexican producers, Ralhan added.

“Delays, order cancellations, and negated cost advantages loom large on these sectors,” he said.

Looking at the current emerging scenario, he urged that there is a need for immediate government support, which includes a push for interest subvention schemes and export credit support to sustain working capital and liquidity.

The sector currently requires low credit cost and easy access to credit, especially to MSMEs, with support from banks and financial institutions. Special direction in this regard from the government and Reserve Bank of India is needed, he said.

Ralhan also urges for moratorium on payment of principal and interest for loans up to a period of one year.

Besides, expanding PLI schemes, enhancing infrastructure, and investing in cold-chain/storage assets to strengthen competitiveness and aggressive market diversification through accelerated trade agreements (FTAs) with the EU, Oman, Chile, Peru, GCC, Africa, and other Latin American countries, with a provision for early-harvest for labour-intensive sectors, should be prioritised, he said.

“However, leveraging the negotiating window for urgent diplomatic engagement with the US still remains the key. Yet another approach could be promotion of Brand India & Innovation through enhanced global branding, invest in quality certifications, and embed innovation in export strategy to make Indian goods more attractive globally,” the President said.

FIEO appeals for swift, coordinated action among exporters, industry bodies, and government agencies to protect livelihoods, reinforce global trade links, and navigate this turbulent phase.

“The steps taken now will determine how effectively India withstands external shocks and reasserts its presence in the global export landscape,” he said.

Published – August 27, 2025 01:04 am IST