The Centre has formed a high-level committee which is tasked to review tariff relief on imports from the United States. The development comes amid the US plans to impose reciprocal tariffs across trading countries by April 2.

According to the report, the panel will be formed under the Ministry of Commerce, and will likely submit its report by March 15 to the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Finance.

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The government review is looking at tariffs that currently range between 15–20%, 50–70%, and 70–80%, and whether rate adjustment could be made in “8-digit code identifying a specific product for custom purposes”, the report said citing sources.

The committee assesses the scope of possible tariff reductions and is tasked to recommend the best course of action. Further, the mandate is to closely examine imported goods and propose tariff adjustments.

Once the recommendations are submitted, the final decision on the tariff relief will need to be vetted by the Prime Minister’s Office before being implemented, according to reports. India has already been “extremely responsive” in addressing the perception that it imposes high tariffs on foreign goods.

The review panel’s work will be crucial in determining India’s response to the US’s proposed tariffs.

In a separate development, the Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal during his virtual address at the Pune International Business Summit. The Minister stressed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visits to the USA and France have paved the way for greater investment and enhanced collaborations.

Emphasising that the 2-day summit will delve into emerging trade trends, build robust alliances and highlight the transformative role of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in driving Viksit Bharat, Goyal pointed out that representatives from over 20 countries will participate at the event, reflecting global confidence in India’s resilience.

US President Donald Trump has recently said that his administration will soon impose reciprocal tariffs on countries such as India and China, reiterating what he had said during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to the US capital.

“We’ll soon impose reciprocal tariffs because that means, they charge us, we charge them. It is very simple. Whatever a company or a country, such as let’s say India or China or any of them, whatever they charge, we want to be fair … so reciprocal. Reciprocal meaning, ‘they charge us, we charge them’”, Trump had said in Washington.