Founder of Capitalmind Mutual Fund Deepak Shenoy has reacted to US President Donald Trump’s announcement on imposing a 25 per cent tariff and a penalty on Indian goods.
In a post on the social media platform X, Shenoy wrote, “More drama in the Trump tariff soap opera. We’re going to see more of this in the coming days.”
He further added, “India and the US don’t trade that much in goods, and so we won’t trade too much going forward either, because now both countries have higher tariffs on each other.”
Impact on pharma exports
When one of the users asked about the state of pharmaceutical and chemical exports, Shenoy replied, “The american importers will have to pay more for them; or they have to go through cycles of approvals for new FDA approved plants elsewhere (sic).”
Trump’s tariff announcement
On Wednesday, July 29, US President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on India, citing high duties and non-monetary trade barriers. He criticised India’s military purchases from Russia, imposed a penalty, and stated that the tariff would be effective from August 1.
In a post on his Truth Social account, Trump wrote, “Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country.”
He pointed out that India imports military equipment and oil from Russia, the country responsible for the war in Ukraine, according to Trump. As a result, he intends to impose a ‘penalty’ on India from Friday onwards.
India responds
India responded to Trump’s tariffs by saying that it was “studying its implications” and taking steps “necessary to secure our national interest.”
New Delhi also said that it remains committed to “fair, balanced, mutually beneficial” trade agreement with the US.
“The Government has taken note of a statement by the US President on bilateral trade. The Government is studying its implications. India and the US have been engaged in negotiations on concluding a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement over the last few months. We remain committed to that objective,” the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said.
