Contrary to the claims of US President Donald Trump, it’s not cars but food preparations, such as food supplements, duck meat, oilseeds, carpets, and maple syrups, that are the leading exports from the US, attracting over 60 percent tariffs from other countries, according to a Moneycontrol analysis.
In terms of value, these items accounted for 50 percent of the $7.3 billion exports which faced high tariffs of 60 percent or more in 2023.
Food preparations were of the highest export value, with high tariffs, as it accounted for $1.1 billion of the $7.3 billion. They faced duties of 60 percent or more from other nations. This was followed by duck meat, which accounted for $772 million, followed by a category of oilseeds, worth $716 million.
India's share
Analysis shows that India’s share in tariffs on these items was even less.
While the top 10 exports from Washington, in terms of value that attracted high tariffs accounted for 69 percent, India’s share of high value tariff imports was just 0.2 percent.
Trump, in his nearly two-hour address to the Joint Session of Congress on March 4, blamed India and other countries for levying high tariffs on US exports.
Singling out India, the 47th President of the US called India’s high auto tariffs “very unfair”.
“On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Canada — have you heard of them? And countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them,” Trump had said.
But analysis shows that auto tariffs are not even a concern for the US. Cane or beet sugar was the one export item which attracted high tariffs from 37 nations, while smoking tobacco faced tariffs of 60 percent or more from 22 countries.
Nor was India the only abuser of US tariffs. Whiskies, which has become another point of contention between the two nations, was taxed highly by 15 other countries, including Indonesia and Thailand. US beer attracted high tariffs (60 percent or more) from 14 nations, besides India. Vodka faced high tariffs from 13 nations other than India, while American Rum was taxed highly in 13 countries, including in India.
An earlier analysis by Moneycontrol had found that just 0.4 percent of US exports faced high tariffs. India was ranked ninth among nations levying high tariffs on US exports by value, with Korea, Mexico, Canada, and China leading the pack.
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