Trump’s Trade War: Decoding the 'Dirty 15'—India’s Place in the Lineup

As Donald Trump ramps up his trade war rhetoric in his latest term, a group of nations dubbed the 'Dirty 15' has emerged as the primary targets of his administration’s economic ire. These countries, accused of unfair trade practices, currency manipulation, or simply outmaneuvering U.S. interests, are under the spotlight—and India’s name is in the mix. But where exactly does New Delhi stand in this high-stakes lineup?

Edited By: Madhulika Rai

Last Updated : 01 April 2025, 06:20 PM IST

Trump

US President Donald Trump has announced to impose reciprocal tariffs on many countries around the world on April 2. This could be the biggest tariff move of his government. It is being promoted as America's Liberation Day. Trump has repeatedly criticized the high tariffs imposed by India and other countries on American goods and has said that he plans to start a series of retaliatory tariffs from April 2, i.e. Wednesday. In this connection, the Trump administration on Monday released a list of foreign policies and rules, which they consider trade barriers for their country.

What are the 'Dirty-15' countries?
However, Trump administration officials have said that the first target of this initiative will be a few selected countries which have a huge trade deficit with the US. Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant has referred to a group of countries called "Dirty-15" and said that these are the countries which are 15 percent of the US's trading partners but impose heavy tariffs on American goods and create other trade barriers. Although Bessant did not clearly say which countries fall in this category, but US trade data gives information about such dirty-15 countries.

Trump has long been saying that these countries are looting the US by levying high taxes. Trump has repeatedly criticized the high tariffs imposed by India and other countries on US goods

These countries are collectively most responsible for the US trade deficit. Therefore, it is believed that the Trump administration can put these countries at the forefront in its new tariff announcement and impose reciprocal taxes on them. However, the US Trade Representative Office has identified 21 countries, which are said to be adopting unfair trade policies with the US. Therefore, their trade relations should also be reviewed.

How much will the tariff be?
It has not been announced how much tariff the Trump administration will impose on which country, but it is being said that whatever tax the country is imposing on American goods, America will impose the same tax on their goods as well. The White House has said that if you look at trade unfair practices, the European Union charges 50 percent duty on American dairy products and Japan charges 700 percent duty on American rice. India charges 100 percent duty on American agricultural products and Canada charges around 300 percent duty on American butter and cheese. This means that America can impose the same amount of retaliatory duty or even more on the products of these countries.

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