India will not ‘bow down’ to US after steep tariffs, trade minister says

In his first public statements since US’s stringent 50 percent tariffs on Indian goods came into effect, India’s trade minister stated that it would not “bow down” to the US but instead would concentrate its efforts to entice new markets.

Piyush Goyal said that India was “always ready if anyone wants to have a free trade agreement with us,” at a Friday event for the construction industry in New Delhi. However, he continued, “India will never bow down or appear weak.”

“We will keep working together to expand our markets.”

As part of US efforts to pressure Moscow into ending its more than three-year conflict in Ukraine, steep tariffs were implemented this week on many Indian imports into the US as a result of New Delhi’s massive purchases of Russian oil.

US President Donald Trump has used tariffs as a broad-ranging policy tool since making his White House appearance this year, with the levies affecting global trade.

Trump’s most recent tariff announcement hasstrained US-Indian ties, with New Delhi earlier calling them “unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable.”

Agriculture and dairy markets are at a standstill in trade negotiations between the two nations.

Trump wants more US access, whereas Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, wants to protect the country’s farmers, a sizable voter bloc.

In 2024, India exported a lot worth $87.3 billion, mostly to the US.

Analysts have warned that smaller businesses are most likely to suffer from a trade embargo and a 50% duty.

Exporters of clothing, seafood, and jewelry have already reportedly cancelled US orders due to losses made by rivals like Vietnam and Bangladesh, raising concerns about severe job losses.

Goyal stated on Friday that the government would introduce a number of measures to boost exports and support every sector in the upcoming days. “I can confidently say that India’s exports will surpass those of 2024 and 25″.”

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, DC, in contrast, has largely upheld a May ruling that found Trump overstepped his authority by imposing universal tariffs on all US trading partners.

Trump argued that the move was justified by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which referred to trade deficits with other nations as “national emergencies.”

The appeals court, which upheld the blanket tariffs’ ruling on Friday, questioned that logic.