New Delhi, Feb 3 (PTI) The government should continue its intense dialogue with the US administration for the formal withdrawal of the punitive duty and issuance of an official notification, TDP MP Beeda Masthan Rao Yadav said in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Yadav said in 2025, the United States imposed a 25 per cent reciprocal tariff on Indian goods, linked to India’s purchase of Russian oil. As a result, several Indian exports were subjected to an effective tariff burden ranging between 50 and 58 per cent, he said.
He said these measures severely disrupted trade flows, eroded competitiveness, and created uncertainty for exporters, particularly MSMEs and labour-intensive sectors.
“In this context, I would like to place on record my appreciation of the determined efforts of the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Modi ji and the NDA government and the commerce ministry, whose proactive diplomatic engagement with the United States has yielded tangible results,” Yadav said.
“The announcement on February 2, 2026, of an understanding to reduce the reciprocal tariff from 25 per cent to 18 per cent is a significant relief for Indian exporters and a strong signal of India’s growing stature in global trade negotiations,” he added.
The TDP MP said the positive market response, including the strengthening of the Indian rupee, reflects confidence in this leadership-driven engagement. However, he flagged continuing uncertainty due to the absence of a formal notification from the US government.
He said the announcement so far is based on public statements and verbal communication, and a formal notification is yet to be issued under US law, including under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
He added that while President Trump’s statement refers to the reciprocal tariff, it does not explicitly confirm the withdrawal of the 25 per cent punitive duty.
Yadav further pointed out that US Customs entry documents show two separate duty codes — one for the reciprocal tariff and another for the Russia-India punitive levy — each reviewed independently until further legal clarification is issued.
In light of this, he said, exporters continue to face uncertainty.
“I therefore appeal to the government to continue an intense dialogue with the US administration to secure the formal withdrawal of the punitive duty,” Yadav said. PTI JP RHL
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