The government said that, as part of larger tariff reductions to help local businesses weather the possible effects of reciprocal U.S. tariffs, there would be no import duties on a number of products needed to make mobile phones and batteries for electric vehicles.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, stated, “We aim to boost domestic production and enhance export competitiveness by reducing duties on raw materials,” prior to the Finance Bill 2025 being passed by parliament.
According to her, 35 products required to create EV batteries and 28 items used to make mobile phones will not be subject to import duties in India.
The government has been planning to lessen the effects of reciprocal tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, which are scheduled to go into effect on April 2.
Negotiations are underway between the two nations to settle tariff disputes and develop a bilateral trade agreement.
According to two official sources, the government was willing to lower duties on almost half of U.S. imports valued at $23 billion in the initial stages of a trade agreement that the two countries are negotiating.
To help domestic manufacturing, a parliamentary committee suggested last week that the government lower import taxes on raw materials.