NEW DELHI: With the 50% tariffs officially coming into force, New Delhi has intensified efforts to mitigate the fallout. According to a senior commerce ministry official, discussions are on with exporters as well as officials of the Trump administration.
“Engagements with exporters are going on. Official-level engagements between the two countries are also on,” the official said.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), and the Ministry of Commerce are jointly coordinating efforts to cushion the impact on exporters.
Speaking to this newspaper, an official said the government is trying to find a way out of the tariff mess and seriously pursuing engagements at multiple levels —diplomatic, political and commercial. The official said the strategies include putting pressure on the Trump administration using the Democrats and businesses there. “Businesses are the ones who are suffering even in the US,” said the official.
Meanwhile, separate meetings between ministries and industry representatives are being held. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has initiated dialogues with key trade bodies to address liquidity and financial concerns triggered by the new tariffs. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra had earlier promised exporters that all measures would be taken to deal with the emerging situation.
On Thursday, a delegation from the Federation of Indian Export Organisations met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. According to the federation, Sitharaman assured them that the government would safeguard workers’ livelihoods and urged industry leaders to reassure employees about job continuity despite global turbulence. Exporters, despite being concerned about the impact on their businesses, have largely backed the government’s stance of dealing with tariff pressure from Washington.