In a relief for India, the United States has announced the suspension of an additional 26% tariff imposed on New Delhi on April 2. The suspension will be in effect till July 9 this year, said an executive order from the White House. The 90-day breather is in line with President Donald Trump’s statement where he said that those not retaliating against US tariffs would be rewarded. On the other hand, the US imposed a 134% tariff on China.

“Effective with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on April 10, 2025, enforcement of the second paragraph of section 3(a) of Executive Order 14257 is suspended until 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on July 9, 2025,” the order said. However, the 10 per cent baseline tariff imposed on the countries will continue to remain in place.

According to reports, India is among the nations leading the tariff negotiations with the United States. Reports claim that New Delhi is looking at a quick trade arrangement with the US until the finalization of the Free Trade Agreement.

On April 2, US President Donald Trump slapped universal duties on about 60 countries exporting goods to America and additional steep levies on countries like India, potentially impacting sales of products from shrimp to steel in the world’s biggest economy. The move was aimed at cutting its trade deficit and boosting domestic manufacturing.

The US imposed an additional import duty of 26 per cent on India. The tariffs were high on its competitors like Thailand, Vietnam and China.

This suspension of tariffs is not applicable to China, including Hong Kong and Macau.

The second paragraph of Section 3 (a) of the executive order issued on April 2 mentions the implementation of reciprocal tariffs. It includes Annex 1 listing the rate of tariffs for different countries.