On Monday, Trump had talked about reaching a trade agreement with India very soon, but subsequently, he made no mention of it. | Photo Credit: Carlos Barria

India is in a wait-and-watch mode as US President Donald Trump sent tariff letters to six more countries, including the Philippines, Algeria, Iraq and Libya, on Wednesday morning (US time) following the fourteen he sent on Tuesday. The letters specify levies that would be imposed from August 1 instead of the earlier deadline of July 9. Trump is expected to send some more letters later in the day, as indicated by him on Tuesday.

“Irrespective of what happens now in terms of a trade deal, it is clear that India will not be immediately subject to the full 26 per cent reciprocal tariffs announced on April 2 (or any new rates that may be fixed). It will get time till August 1, like all others, before the tariffs are imposed. India already indicated its offers, limitations and expectations as far as the proposed India-US interim deal is concerned. How Trump responds to that remains to be seen,” a source tracking the matter told businessline.

On Monday, Trump had talked about reaching a trade agreement with India very soon, but subsequently, he made no mention of it.

India, like other trading partners of the US with which trade negotiations are on, such as the EU, has now time till August 1 to strike a deal to avoid the reciprocal tariffs. 

 Per reports, Trump pushed the reciprocal tariff deadline from July 9 to August 1 so that he could get more trade deals done.

So far, an India-US deal has not materialised due to disagreements over issues such as protection of India’s sensitivities, especially in areas such as GM crops and dairy. India has offered the US market access in a number of areas of its interest in line with the free trade agreements it has with other countries. In return, New Delhi wants sustainable preference in areas of interest such as labour intensive goods, sources said.

On April 2, Trump had announced reciprocal tariffs for most trade partners with which the US had a trade deficit. This tariff was then suspended for 90 days, till July 9, except a base tariff of 10 per cent, to give time to countries to work out trade deals with the US.

The fourteen countries that got letters on Tuesday, including Japan, South Korea, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Serbia, Tunisia and South Africa, got assigned tariffs more or less in line with the reciprocal tariffs announced earlier.

Published on July 9, 2025