Any potential reciprocal tariff by US administration is likely to hurt nearly every large sector in India, with chemicals, automobile, textiles and footwear poised to be among the worst-hit, a note by Emkay Global has said. Chief Economist Madhavi Arora, however, added that President Trump has so far only announced a review, with April being the earliest for the tariffs to come into effect, which may imply that there is a window for nations to negotiate the issue. The note added that PM Modi may be able to ‘wrangle’ some exceptions or favourable deals, but that may likely involve lowering import duties, and buying from America. Defence and energy sectors are likely to see more US imports, as evident in the joint briefing of President Trump and PM Modi, where US oil and gas as well as defence platforms featured among items that US was very keen to extend to India.
