Nonetheless, without any legal anchoring of the bilateral deals struck under the past punitive tariff policy regime, this opens up possibilities to renegotiate the mutual commitments. This had resulted in a 50% tariff rate on India's exports, with 25% punitive levies last August for the purchase of Russian oil. Seeking a sound legal foundation makes the direction of trade policy certain and predictable and, therefore, can be viewed as improving India’s bargaining abilities. There is, therefore, complete policy uncertainty on the direction of trade policy. Until the legal direction of US trade policy becomes clear, uncertainty about these will persist.

Source: The Telegraph February 25, 2026 02:23 UTC