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The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has said that essential and strategic items such as pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, copper, and energy products like oil, gas, coal and LNG are exempted from the 27 per cent import duty announced by the US. Overall, it said that the USA's protectionist tariff regime could act as a catalyst for India to gain from global supply chain realignments. 

However, GTRI said to fully leverage these opportunities, India has to enhance its ease of doing business, invest in logistics and infrastructure, and maintain policy stability. If these conditions are met, India is well-positioned to become a key global manufacturing and export hub in the coming years. It noted that the imposition of higher reciprocal tariffs by the US on several Asian countries, including China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, and Bangladesh, presents an opportunity for India to strengthen its position in global trade and manufacturing.  

However, GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said gains will not accrue automatically, and India needs deep reforms for enabling scale production, domestic value addition and improving competitiveness to benefit. With the US setting a relatively lower reciprocal tariff rate of 27 per cent on Indian goods, compared to 54 per cent on China, 46 per cent on Vietnam, 37 per cent on Bangladesh, and 36 per cent on Thailand, India gains a natural competitive advantage in several key sectors. He added that one of the most prominent areas of opportunity lies in textiles and garments as the high tariffs on Chinese and Bangladeshi exports create room for Indian textile manufacturers to gain market share, attract relocated production, and increase exports to the US.