‘Well-positioned’: EY’s Rajiv Memani holds out hope for India amid Trump tariff storm

Rajiv Memani, EY India Chairman, on Tuesday said that in most product categories, a reduction in duty rates would be far more beneficial for India. He further stated that India is well-positioned to negotiate and balance the trade deal with the United States.

“India is well-positioned to negotiate and balance the trade deal with the US. In most products, if duty rates come down—except for agriculture—it will be far more beneficial for India. Most industries are open to tariff duty cuts. Broadly, most Indian industries are comfortable with the lowering of tariffs,” Memani said during the CNN-News18 Rising Bharat Summit 2025.

“Very few people are able to grasp the global tariff situation; everyone is living on a day-to-day basis. It’s creating uncertainty, and people are unable to make business investment decisions. Supply chains will have to be altered. Value chains need to be redefined,” he added.

Additionally, Memani said that US President Trump is determined to bring manufacturing back to the United States, “whether he has to apply pressure on countries or companies.”

He also highlighted that India must focus more on domestic value addition to boost exports and improve the ease of doing business.

“The emphasis on domestic value addition has to become stronger to leverage exports,” Memani said, adding, “It takes time for companies to create capacity.”

Meanwhile, Karan Singh, Chairman of Bain & Company’s India offices, said that India can benefit in manufacturing if it negotiates well with the US in trade deals.

Singh further said that India needs to attract more foreign direct investment. “We need global champions to come in and set up in India. We need global scale to compete with China.”

Earlier, during the summit, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that India will emerge as a winner in the ongoing tariff war.

“Why are you so mesmerised by this tariff? Every country is free to determine its own economic policy, but we are part of a multilateral system. Tariffs apply to goods crossing borders, but 40 per cent of our exports are services, which are not covered by tariffs,” Puri said when asked about India’s ability to offset the effects of tariffs through increased energy imports.