When America imposed high tariffs on India, most market experts believed that it would have a serious negative impact on the Indian economy. However, India strengthened domestic demand through reforms like GST and took major steps like free trade agreements with many countries to reduce dependence on America. As a result of this, it has come to light in many reports that despite high tariffs, there was no major impact on India’s economy and on the contrary, there was an increase in exports.

A bigger threat than tariffs

On the other hand, Indian-American economist and Harvard University professor Geeta Gopinath believes that the biggest threat to India’s rapidly growing economy is not tariffs but increasing pollution. He says that pollution has gradually become a serious challenge for India’s growth, because it is not only increasing the economic cost but is also having a deep impact on human life.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum, he said that there is a lot of discussion on trade, tariffs and regulations, but big problems like pollution are often ignored.

Millions of deaths every year in India

Geeta Gopinath, citing the World Bank’s 2022 report, said that every year in India, about 17 lakh people die due to pollution-related reasons, which puts a huge burden on the economy, workforce and long-term development. He also said that pollution is not only India’s internal problem, but it is also a matter of concern for foreign investors who are planning big investments in India.

It is noteworthy that America has imposed a base tariff of 25 percent on India. Whereas the additional 25 percent tariff has been imposed due to buying crude oil from Russia at a lower price. In this way, the total US tariff rates on India are 50 percent. Trade deals have been discussed several times between the two countries, but a final agreement has not been reached. Now it is believed that the trade deal between India and America is in the final stages.

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