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India's high tariffs are a barrier to imports, White House's Hassett says
Reuters reported earlier on Feb. 10 that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is preparing additional tariff cuts ahead of a two-day visit to Washington from Feb. 12.
FILE PHOTO: Kevin Hassett, Director of the National Economic Council, gaggles with members of the media at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 7, 2025. / REUTERS/Kent Nishimura/File Photo
India has high tariffs that lock out imports, U.S. President Donald Trump's top economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Feb. 10, adding that India's prime minister had a lot to discuss with Trump when the two leaders meet soon.
Trump believes the United States should impose reciprocal tariffs that are at least equal to those imposed by other countries, Hassett said in an interview with CNBC, adding, "If they go down, we'll go down."
"Almost every trading partner has much higher tariffs than we do," he said, noting that Canada, Mexico and Britain had tariffs in the same range as the United States. Other countries, including Taiwan and India, had much higher rates.
Reuters reported earlier on Feb. 10 that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is preparing additional tariff cuts ahead of a two-day visit to Washington from Feb. 12.
Trump on Feb. 09 said he plans announce new 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S. on Feb. 10, on top of existing metals duties, and reciprocal tariffs on Feb. 11 or Feb. 12, to take effect almost immediately.
Trump has previously called India a "very big abuser" on trade and urged it to buy more American-made security equipment to move towards a fair two-way trading relationship.
India is considering tariff cuts in at least a dozen sectors, from electronics to medical equipment and chemicals, to boost U.S. exports in line with New Delhi's domestic production plans, three government officials said.
India also plans to propose increasing energy product imports from the United States, estimated at over $11 billion in first eleven months of 2024, to alleviate trade imbalances.
As the world's fourth-largest importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), India may push its oil companies to purchase more U.S. LNG, buoyed by the Trump administration's lifting of export permit bans for new projects.
Based on data from the World Trade Organization, India's simple average tariff rate is 17 percent, compared to about 3.3 percent for the U.S. On a trade-weighted basis, India's rate is about 12 percent, vs the U.S. rate of 2.2 percent.
Hassett told CNBC that Trump was concerned that the Biden administration had granted waivers from tariffs on steel and aluminum that were imposed during Trump's first term to ensure the U.S. had sufficient steel production in the event of a war. "So steel capacity went way up, and then all of a sudden, there's waivers for this and waivers for that. There's hundreds and thousands of waivers," Hassett said. "So President Trump, as he can do, is like, 'Okay, so let's just stop the waivers, and he'll do so at a time of his choosing.'"
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