"There’s some hope for an interim agreement with the US before 2nd April": Dhruva Jaishankar

Geopolitical expert Dhruva Jaishankar believes that India has some hope of reaching some kind of an “interim agreement” with the United States on the issue of reciprocal tariffs before the 2nd of April.

Talking about the tariff issue, Jaishankar, who is the Executive Director of the Observer Research Foundation America, said, "So you know the priorities for Trump on tariffs have been Canada, Mexico, China and the European Union to some extent. So far, thankfully, India has been a little exempt.”

Jaishankar added, "Then he announced actually the same day PM Modi met with him... that they are going to do global reciprocal tariffs. India has much higher tariffs than the US; India would be particularly hard hit along with a few other countries — Malaysia, Brazil and others..."

However, he also talked about hopes of India reaching an agreement with the US and said, “I think there have been some attempts, even in the last few days for trade negotiations. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal spoke with the US Trade Representative... I think there's some hope that there'll be some kind of interim agreement before 2nd April, let's see if that happens."

US Reciprocal Tariff Plan
The United States is set to implement a reciprocal tariff plan on 2 April 2025, aimed at balancing trade relationships by mirroring tariffs imposed on US goods by foreign countries. Announced by President Donald Trump, this "Fair and Reciprocal Plan" seeks to address the nation's persistent trade deficit and counter perceived unfair trade practices. The policy will adjust US tariffs to match those levied by trading partners, potentially impacting countries like India, Brazil, and the EU, which impose higher duties on American exports. Proponents argue it levels the playing field for American workers, while critics warn of rising consumer prices and global trade tensions.