Industry analysts stated on Thursday that it seems India’s export competitiveness to the US market is significantly less affected on a relative basis than its international counterparts, after US President Donald Trump‘s announcement of reciprocal tariffs on dozens of nations, including India.

Trump’s proposed tariffs would significantly alter global manufacturing value chains and commerce.

Sanjay Nayar, president of Assocham, stated, “India has been placed somewhere in the middle of the tariff rates at 26% in addition to 10% baseline duties, which needs to be assessed for real impact.”

Overall, it seems that, in comparison, India’s export competitiveness to the US market is far less affected. However, in order to lessen the effects of these duties, our industry should work together to improve value addition and export efficiency,” he added in a statement.

Since the majority of the United States’ trading partners have decided to impose reciprocal tariffs, no nation benefits and consumers may have to pay more, which might put pressure on inflation.

Nayar stated that India Inc. would collaborate closely with the government on this issue. “While we wait and watch for global reaction, the way forward for India could be a quick preferential trade deal keeping in mind that President Trump still respects leadership of PM Narendra Modi,” Nayar added.

The US imposing a uniform 26 percent tariff on Indian exports, according to economist Arsh Mogre of PL Capital Institutional Equities Research, represents a significant but strategic recalibration of trade dynamics towards bilateralism and the end of multilateralism. He said the move is more of a high-stakes gambit in trade negotiations than an act of protectionism.

The disruption is sectorally unequal and contextually reduced by India’s emerging relative tariff advantage over Asian counterparts, he said, even though the short-term impact on India’s $75–78 billion US-bound exports is not insignificant.

Ironically, the decision makes India more competitive in high-exposure categories like electronics, textiles, and footwear in a post-China+1 global sourcing environment where barriers for Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand are now 10–20 percentage points higher.

Furthermore, India maintains cost resilience in industries like electronics, chemicals, and auto parts compared to China, which currently faces an exorbitant 54% effective tariff wall, according to Mogre.