India must rethink trade strategy as US pushes reciprocal tariffs

A systematic evaluation of all these measures, for almost 13,000 tariff lines traded by the US for each of its trade partners, seems like a near-impossible exercise to undertake

Among the most significant, but also confounding, announcements by President Donald Trump in his first month in office is the imposition of “reciprocal tariffs” by the US on its trade partners. The White House memo of February 13, 2025, specifies a comprehensive approach to measuring non-reciprocity by US trade partners based on five detailed criteria. In addition to tariffs imposed on US products, this includes non-tariff barriers, subsidies and/ or any measures, policies —including on exchange rates, taxes, practices or regulatory requirements in the partner country —that, in the judgement of the US administration, are discriminatory or impose limitations on