HomeWorld NewsIndia now faces the lowest US tariffs among all EMs
Before the latest truce, US had imposed more tariff on India than any other trading partner since August 2025.
By Sriram Iyer February 3, 2026, 12:49:07 AM IST (Updated)
After nearly six months of a standoff, India and the US seem to have reached a truce in the tariff negotiations. President Donald Trump announced that the import tariffs on Indian goods would be cut to 18%.
Before the latest decision, India faced a 50% tariff, which included a 25% penalty for buying Russian oil. It was the highest tariff that the US had imposed anywhere in the world.
However, in one stroke, the US tariffs on Indian imports is down to the lowest among all major emerging markets.
| Emerging Market | US Tariffs |
| South Africa | 30% |
| Thailand | 19% |
| Philippines | 19% |
| Malaysia | 19% |
| Mexico | 25% |
| China | 47.5% |
| South Korea | 25% |
| Brazil | 50% |
| Indonesia | 19% |
| India | 18% |
There final tariff will be 18% as India continues to wean off Russian oil purchases, US ambassador to South Asia, Sergio Gor, said while speaking to a media outlet.
The markets will wait for more details on the agreement so far. For instance, it isn’t clear if India has agreed to some of the sticky issues like Trump’s demand for entry of American players in India’s agriculture and dairy markets, something that the US President alluded to in his post announcing the latest pact.
On the other hand, any mention of the sectoral details of the agreement were conspicuously in the celebratory post from the Indian Prime Minister.
Note To Readers
An earlier version of the article said the US tariffs on South Korea was lower than India at 15%. However, Trump had raised the tariff on South Korean exports six days ago. The article has been updated to reflect the fact.
First Published:
Feb 2, 2026 11:21 PM
IST
