Trump’s Tariffs Will Crush India’s Exporters, Threatening Livelihoods

[HumblePi]

Trump’s Tariffs Will Crush India’s Exporters, Threatening Livelihoods​

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/18/business/trump-tariffs-india-economy.html
New U.S. taxes on American imports, even at 25 percent, will hurt many Indian businesses and may put vast numbers of people out of work.

A big part of India’s economy is facing a nightmare scenario. On Aug. 27, the extraordinarily high tariff of 25 percent that President Trump imposed on its exports to the United States is set to double. Businesses that were viable are bound to go bust quickly as orders dry up.

“We were shocked with the 25 percent tariff, and thinking about how to meet this problem, how to face this,” said Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan, a fourth-generation carpet maker in Bhadohi, in the giant state of Uttar Pradesh. “But now it’s 50 percent, so it became impossible. We’re afraid that a lot of people will be unemployed.”
___________________________________________________________________
India is furious with Trump's 50% reciprocal tariffs that will go into effect on Aug 27. All Trump accomplished with his outrageous tariff on India was to push India closer to America's trade rivals, China and Russia. And, that's exactly where India is taking their trade, right to Russia. The 25% tariff on India was killing their economy, the 50% makes it impossible for India to do trade with the U.S. I wish Trump's supporters here could understand the depths to which Trump is taking the U.S. globally. How can anyone wonder if Trump is working for Putin when the proof of it is right in front of our faces?

 

[Napoleon]

What goes around comes around. How many Americans have lost their livelihood due to offshoring to India and H-1b visas given to Indians?

 

[Grand Mal]

What goes around comes around. How many Americans have lost their livelihood due to offshoring to India and H-1b visas given to Indians?

What goes around comes around. India, like much of the rest of the world, is finding trade avenues that go around the USA.
Isolationism in a global economy. Brilliant strategy.

 

[Airyaman]

How dare they provide US consumers with inexpensive goods! We must pay more for American versions because, well, because...I've got nothing.

 

[Integrityrespec]

Trump’s Tariffs Will Crush India’s Exporters, Threatening Livelihoods​

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/18/business/trump-tariffs-india-economy.html
New U.S. taxes on American imports, even at 25 percent, will hurt many Indian businesses and may put vast numbers of people out of work.

A big part of India’s economy is facing a nightmare scenario. On Aug. 27, the extraordinarily high tariff of 25 percent that President Trump imposed on its exports to the United States is set to double. Businesses that were viable are bound to go bust quickly as orders dry up.

“We were shocked with the 25 percent tariff, and thinking about how to meet this problem, how to face this,” said Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan, a fourth-generation carpet maker in Bhadohi, in the giant state of Uttar Pradesh. “But now it’s 50 percent, so it became impossible. We’re afraid that a lot of people will be unemployed.”
___________________________________________________________________
India is furious with Trump's 50% reciprocal tariffs that will go into effect on Aug 27. All Trump accomplished with his outrageous tariff on India was to push India closer to America's trade rivals, China and Russia. And, that's exactly where India is taking their trade, right to Russia. The 25% tariff on India was killing their economy, the 50% makes it impossible for India to do trade with the U.S. I wish Trump's supporters here could understand the depths to which Trump is taking the U.S. globally. How can anyone wonder if Trump is working for Putin when the proof of it is right in front of our faces?

Trump, Trump, Trump. Give it a rest, really. All the naysayers predictions have fallen flat. You started in a hole with Trump Russia Collusion and just got worse and worse. You aren't scoring points with any but the crazy dem base.

 

[dmpi]

What goes around comes around. India, like much of the rest of the world, is finding trade avenues that go around the USA.
Isolationism in a global economy. Brilliant strategy.

Go around? It's the America consumer they're looking for.

 

[HumblePi]

Trump, Trump, Trump. Give it a rest, really. All the naysayers predictions have fallen flat. You started in a hole with Trump Russia Collusion and just got worse and worse. You aren't scoring points with any but the crazy dem base.

So, you approve of a 50% tariff on products coming from India, do I have that right?

 

[Taylor]

“We were shocked with the 25 percent tariff, and thinking about how to meet this problem, how to face this,” said Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan, a fourth-generation carpet maker in Bhadohi, in the giant state of Uttar Pradesh. “But now it’s 50 percent, so it became impossible. We’re afraid that a lot of people will be unemployed.”

Well, that certainly can't be true. People at DP have been telling us for months that tariffs are just a tax on US citizens.

Perhaps Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan should read more posts at DP to set his mind at ease.

 

[Michael Cole]

What goes around comes around. How many Americans have lost their livelihood due to offshoring to India and H-1b visas given to Indians?

No American lost a job to a carpet maker. No American lost a dime to India. Indeed, we are the largest economy on the globe. We didn't get that way by losing jobs to India.

MAGA gets lost in retribution - even for things that don't exist - to the point their good sense is disturbed. Sad sight.

 

[Michael Cole]

Well, that certainly can't be true. People at DP have been telling us for months that tariffs are just a tax on US citizens.

Perhaps Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan should read more posts at DP to set his mind at ease.

Tariffs are a tax on US importers. They don't have to be citizens. At a certain point, tariffs become prohibitive. That is, the tax is so high that importers cannot afford to import products, raw materials or components.

50% is likely prohibitive.

It's easy to understand, but you have to ignore Trump.

 

[Questerr]

What goes around comes around. How many Americans have lost their livelihood due to offshoring to India and H-1b visas given to Indians?

Weird how you’d prefer to harm poor and middle class Americans with higher taxes than punish the rich capitalists who did the offshoring.

 

[HumblePi]

That's roughly 91 billion dollars in trade that will now be going to Russia.

 

[element94]

Trump, Trump, Trump. Give it a rest, really. All the naysayers predictions have fallen flat. You started in a hole with Trump Russia Collusion and just got worse and worse. You aren't scoring points with any but the crazy dem base.

Except for the part you have to try to hide: "Republican-led Senate panel finds Trump campaign's contacts with Russian operatives to a be a grave national security risk."

 

[OrphanSlug]

This is an absurd debate to have, and the punchline is Trump's zero sum mentality on all this.

Trump's tariffs on India will force India to consider more alternatives to the US market, and we are not the only buyer on the planet nor the only nation willing to offshore labor. Of course, the Trump's tariffs will harm India and that is the point. The reality is they will not all go home and sulk in a corner, they will adapt as all nations seeing Trump's temper tantrum tariffs have also adapted.

India exports something like $88 billion in products to the US, they also export $76 billion to various EU nations and another $57 billion to various Arab gulf states. China buys from them, so does the UK.

You guys really think this is "winning" with these moves, all we have seen to date is a plethora of new or renewed trade agreements between nations not involving the US.

The NY Times article is compelling but incomplete (based on what I could read before being asked to buy the article.)

 

[Taylor]

Tariffs are a tax on US importers. They don't have to be citizens. At a certain point, tariffs become prohibitive. That is, the tax is so high that importers cannot afford to import products, raw materials or components.

50% is likely prohibitive.

It's easy to understand, but you have to ignore Trump.

That can't be true. You need to read more DP. It's just a tax on US citizens.

 

[Taylor]

Weird how you’d prefer to harm poor and middle class Americans with higher taxes than punish the rich capitalists who did the offshoring.

How do they do that? By importing products? It's too bad tariffs don't affect importers. Just a tax on US citizens. Don't know why this guy from India is upset, either.

 

[Michael Cole]

That can't be true.

I see you've chosen Trump over truth. Can't help you there.

 

[Questerr]

How do they do that? By importing products? It's too bad tariffs don't affect importers. Just a tax on US citizens. Don't know why this guy from India is upset, either.

They are upset because it will cut Indian exports.

Tariffs are sales taxes. Sales taxes are regressive. Their tax burden falls more on the poor and middle class than the rich. And sales taxes have a tax incidence rate of almost 100%, meaning the importer can pass nearly 100% of the cost of the tax to the customer.

 

[Grand Mal]

Go around? It's the America consumer they're looking for.

Less and less. India and China are becoming consumer markets themselves. 1.5 billion Indians can spend a lot less each than 350 million Americans and still replace them as a market. Then there's 1.4 billion Chinese. 3 billion Asians becoming increasingly wealthy are reducing American influence as a consumer nation.
There's networks of trade agreements developing that don't include the US.
Have you noticed that America has changed from being where things are produced to being where producers sell their products?

 

[dmpi]

Less and less. India and China are becoming consumer markets themselves. 1.5 billion Indians can spend a lot less each than 350 million Americans and still replace them as a market. Then there's 1.4 billion Chinese. 3 billion Asians becoming increasingly wealthy are reducing American influence as a consumer nation.
There's networks of trade agreements developing that don't include the US.
Have you noticed that America has changed from being where things are produced to being where producers sell their products?

That's the point. These counties need to build up their own consumer class so America has someone to export to. If they want to trade among each other that's good too because it support's the world economy and America will no longer be needed to rescue third world countries. Free market is optimized when we're all equal.

 

[Grand Mal]

That's the point. These counties need to build up their own consumer class so America has someone to export to. If they want to trade among each other that's good too because it support's the world economy and America will no longer be needed to rescue third world countries. Free market is optimized when we're all equal.

America doesn't rescue anyone. American companies operate child-labour sweatshops in third-world countries. That's how you got trade-deficit situations with third-world countries. That's why your Dear Leader says he wants to bring manufacturing home.

 

[Taylor]

I see you've chosen Trump over truth. Can't help you there.

I don't think it's Trump going around saying that tariffs are just a tax on US citizens. You need to read more news and more DP.

 

[Questerr]

That's the point. These counties need to build up their own consumer class so America has someone to export to. If they want to trade among each other that's good too because it support's the world economy and America will no longer be needed to rescue third world countries. Free market is optimized when we're all equal.

America DOES export to India and China. America is the second largest manufacturer in the world.

But the majority of our manufacturing is directed towards high end goods, especially machine tools. Not consumer goods.

And that’s what we should want. We should want as a rich nation to be manufacturing high end goods that require well educated, highly paid workers.

 

[Grand Mal]

I don't think it's Trump going around saying that tariffs are just a tax on US citizens. You need to read more news and more DP.

Of course tariffs are a tax on American citizens. It's an import tax intended to discourage buying imported goods and encourage buying domestically-produced stuff.
Tariffs on raw materials, however, import taxes on the stuff domestic manufacturers need to produce in the USA, are a special kind of stupid.

 

[Taylor]

They are upset because it will cut Indian exports.

Tariffs are sales taxes. Sales taxes are regressive.

Nope. Tariffs are Federal taxes on imported goods paid by importers to influence trade. Sales taxes are (largely) state and local taxes levied on the consumer to pay for services.

Their tax burden falls more on the poor and middle class than the rich. And sales taxes have a tax incidence rate of almost 100%, meaning the importer can pass nearly 100% of the cost of the tax to the customer.