US Tariff on India 2026
The current US tariff on India sits at roughly 10%, layered on top of standard MFN duties. That's a steep fall from the 50% wall that hit Indian exports for most of late 2025. Good news for exporters. The story behind that number, though, is messier than a single headline suggests — and worth picking apart before anyone calls it settled.
From 50% to Almost Nothing, and Back Again
Rewind to August 2025. Washington slapped a 25% reciprocal tariff on Indian goods, then tacked on another 25% as punishment for India's continued Russian oil purchases. Total: 50%. Gems, jewellery, shrimp, carpets, leather — sectors where the US buys a third to two-thirds of everything India exports — took a direct hit.
Then things moved fast.
A bilateral deal on February 2, 2026 cut the reciprocal rate to 18%. Days later, the Russian-oil penalty was gone entirely.
And then the floor dropped out from under the whole thing. The US Supreme Court struck down the IEEPA reciprocal-tariff structure on February 20, and for a few strange days India was back to paying nothing but ordinary MFN duty.
It didn't last. The White House rolled out a new 10% "global tariff" under Section 122 authority by February 24, this one carrying a built-in expiry of 150 days.
July 24, 2026 arrived, and that clock ran out. Same day, the US swapped it for a fresh 10% duty under Section 301, framed this time around forced-labour concerns rather than trade deficits. Net effect on the headline number: zero. But the legal basis is a completely different animal — and that distinction is going to matter a lot more than the number does.
What Exporters Are Actually Paying High rate of tariff
Here's where headline percentages get misleading. Pharma and semiconductors are largely exempt, and always have been through most of this saga — which means the 10% figure badly understates the pain everywhere else. Layer Section 232 metals tariffs on top of that: 50% on raw steel and aluminum, 25% on derivative products. A company shipping fabricated steel parts is paying far more than the "10% story" would have you believe.
Apparel gets squeezed hardest, not because of the reciprocal layer, but because MFN duty on clothing already runs 16.5% before anything else gets added.
My honest take? Calling this "resolved" is premature. A Section 301 tariff justified by forced-labour concerns doesn't expire the same predictable way a reciprocal-deficit tariff does, and it's a lot harder to negotiate away over a trade summit dinner. Exporters treating 10% as the new normal are setting themselves up to get blindsided.
The Global Backdrop-US Tariff
India isn't being singled out. Not exactly. The US ran this same reciprocal-tariff playbook against dozens of countries starting in 2025, touching everyone from Vietnam to the EU.
What made India's case sharper was the Russian-oil penalty — a layer almost nobody else faced. Strip that out, and India's path looks a lot like most major trading partners': brutal in mid-2025, chaotic around the Supreme Court ruling, now settling somewhere in the 10-20% band.
A comprehensive US-India free trade agreement is still being negotiated, and nobody serious is betting on a firm date. Until it lands, if it lands, treat 10% as a number in motion, not a resting point.
FAQ
Is the US tariff on India 10% or 18% right now?
It's 10%, under the Section 301 forced-labour tariff that took effect July 24, 2026. The 18% rate from the February deal never actually held.
**Are Indian pharmaceuticals taxed under this tariff?**
No. Pharma has stayed largely exempt through nearly every phase of this dispute.
**Could the rate change again soon?**
Given how often it's moved in 2026 alone — almost certainly. Watch the ongoing FTA talks and any sector-specific Section 301 rulings
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