FICCI president Harsha Vardhan Agarwal on Thursday called for urgent and bold economic reforms to strengthen India’s industrial base and services sector, In response to the US imposing an additional 25% import tariff on Indian goods.The latest move from Washington takes the total tariff burden on Indian imports to 50%, sparking concerns across domestic export-facing industries. The fresh duty, aimed at penalising India over its continued purchase of Russian oil, will take effect 21 days from the order. The first tranche of tariffs kicked in on August 7. Goods already in transit or those falling under specific exemptions will be spared.Describing the moment as an opportunity to double down on India’s economic potential, Agarwal said in a post on FICCI’s official X handle:“India has in the past faced multiple challenges and we have through our collective resolve turned adversity into opportunity. It is time that we once again focus all our energies into further strengthening our industrial economy and the services sectors. This is the time to take ahead transformative reforms both at the central and state level making it simpler to do business, attract more investments and fully leverage the potential our country offers.“He added that deeper reforms were key to fuelling growth and harnessing the country’s entrepreneurial spirit.“By pursuing factor market reforms, expanding the coverage of PLI scheme, doubling down on infrastructure investments and deepening the digital economy, we can leverage the entrepreneurial energy of our people and aim for even faster growth. Our collective resolve in making India a developed economy by 2047 should be the only guiding factor, for all actions we take, and our national interests should remain paramount.“Industry leaders have also voiced alarm over the additional tariffs, warning that it could severely impact competitiveness in the US market.Meanwhile, the government has called the US decision “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”, defending its sovereign right to purchase oil based on national interest.
