- By Nidhi Giri
- Mon, 03 Feb 2025 09:55 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently acknowledged the effect of tariffs imposed by the United States in Canada, Mexico and China, on India. In a post-budget interview with Hindustan Times, the finance minister said that India was monitoring developments and shall be “watchful”, adding that there was no scope for predicting the impact right now.
US President Donald Trump has signed orders to impose steep tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada, and China. This amounts to a 25 per cent additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10 per cent additional tariff on shipments from China. Energy resources from Canada will have a lower tariff of 10 per cent.
On being asked about the US tariffs, which were introduced in Canada, Mexico and China, the finance minister said , “We don’t know what it is going to be for us. But you raised a pertinent point. On Mexico, on Canada, on China, whatever is being imposed, will that have a bearing on us. It may indirectly have a bearing on us, but specifically on us, we don’t know yet what is going to happen. We’ll be watchful, but we can’t predict at the moment what the effect on us will be.”
On trade-war and importance of Atmanirbhar Bharat, FM Sitharaman said, "We’ll have to make sure that industries are facilitated to find newer markets, and that because of atmanirbharta (self-reliance) we are able to produce many of the things that we need to produce for our essential commodities. But finding new markets is part of what the export promotion engine is speaking about. And in that we have highlighted finding new markets, increasing the capacity of ECGC (Export Credit Guarantee Corporation) and Exim Bank to fund more trade. All this is happening. So we are constantly strengthening the institutions which help in trade promotion."