India said Thursday it was "examining the implications" of sweeping US tariffs, saying it was eyeing "opportunities" after rival competitors were harder hit by US President Donald Trump's hike in duties.
New Delhi, which is in the process of negotiating the first tranche of a bilateral trade agreement with Washington, said it was pushing ahead with talks for a deal.
India's Department of Commerce said it is "carefully examining the implications of the various measures", adding in a statement that it was "also studying the opportunities that may arise due to this new development".
Trump, speaking while unveiling the tariffs at the White House on Wednesday, said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a "great friend" but that he had not been "treating us right".
An initial White House chart revealing the tariffs listed India at 26 percent, but a subsequent annex — cited by New Delhi — put duties at 27 percent.
"Discussions are ongoing between Indian and US trade teams for the expeditious conclusion of a mutually beneficial, multi-sectoral Bilateral Trade Agreement," the statement said.
The commerce department added that talks "are focused on enabling both nations to grow trade, investments and technology transfers".
"We remain in touch with the Trump Administration on these issues and expect to take them forward in the coming days."
India's pharmaceutical sector, which exported more than $8 billion of products to the United States in the 2024 fiscal year, emerged unscathed — with drugs exempt from its reciprocal tariff move.
Indian stocks fell at the open of trading on Thursday, with the benchmark Nifty index trading nearly 0.3 percent down in morning trading.
Trump said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a "great friend" but that he had not been "treating us right", speaking while unveiling the tariffs at the White House on Wednesday.
Indian exporters reacted cautiously saying that the flat 26 percent on exports imposed on fifth-largest economy could have been far worse.
"The tariffs slapped on India are definitely both high and higher than expected, which will hurt demand for our exports," Ajay Sahai, director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, told AFP.
But Sahai also pointed out that India was hit with lower levies than regional manufacturing competition.
"Many countries which we compete with globally, including China, Indonesia, and Vietnam etc have been hit harder than us," he said.
"That opens up space for us to gain in terms of market share.
But at the same time, if more countries retaliate and global trade gets hurt, this isn't good for anyone."
Experts say that India's future policy responses should also take into account China's next steps.
In the run-up to Trump's "Liberation Day" announcement, India sought to reduce trade tensions with Washington by cutting tariffs on some products, including high-end motorcycles and whisky.
"Asia has been hit much more than India on tariffs," Madhavi Arora, chief economist at Emkay Global Financial Services, said.
"China's survival response to the massive tariff blow will matter for India, amid its excess industrial capacity and dumping in the world/Asian markets."
But Global Trade Research Initiative, a New Delhi-based think tank, said the tariff shakeup "presents an opportunity for India to strengthen its position in global trade and manufacturing".
