As former US President Donald Trump imposes 50 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium from 4 June, New Delhi should leverage ongoing FTA talks rather than escalate trade tensions, advises the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).

India's engineering exports face significant headwinds as the US prepares to impose a 50% tariff on steel and aluminium imports, effective June 4, 202

Earlier this month, Trump threatened Mattel with a 100% tariff on all its toy imports after Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz said the company would have to consider raising some toy prices due to tariffs and that it wouldn’t shift toy production to the United States, as that would be more expensive than paying the tariffs.

Apple and India have invested years and billions of dollars in teaming up against China. India sees it as a strength. To President Trump, it looks like leverage.

GTRI advises India to address Trump's new steel and aluminium tariffs within the ongoing FTA talks with the US. This approach aims to persuade the US

India and the US are accelerating negotiations to conclude an interim trade agreement by late June, aiming to avoid new 26 per cent US tariffs on Indian exports and seeking a full rollback of April 2 tariff hikes.

India and the US are actively working on a bilateral trade agreement targeting a doubling of trade to USD 500 billion by 2030. While Trump has proposed increasing tariffs on steel and aluminium, India seeks resolutions through negotiations.

Wells Fargo's Christopher Harvey thinks a 10% tariff could be split evenly between importers, corporations, and consumers.