Trump’s tariff exemptions for 200 products: How India’s agricultural exports will benefit from US move – explained

After imposing sweeping tariffs, the Donald Trump administration has softened its stance as prices of basic commodities have gone up in the US. Last week Trump announced that he will be doing away with tariffs on over 200 food items. According to a White House Executive Order, that was issued on November 12, 2025, coffee, tea, tropical fruits, fruit juices, cocoa, spices, bananas, oranges, tomatoes, beef and certain fertilizers from the April 2 reciprocal tariff regime have been excluded from the list. There are growing worries in the US that Trump’s tariffs will disrupt supply chains and raise prices of several essential commodities substantially. The exemptions took effect on November 13. These goods are either not produced in adequate quantities in America or depend on climate conditions the US cannot replicate. Trump’s latest move, though aimed at keeping inflation in check, may benefit Indian exporters of agricultural commodities who have faced a 50% tariff rate since late August. Importantly, it is yet unclear whether the exemption from tariffs for India will be just 25% or a full 50% which includes the 25% penal tariffs for crude oil imports from Russia.

How India has reacted to Trump’s move

The Commerce Ministry has said that India stands to benefit from the US decision to withdraw reciprocal tariffs on select agricultural products, including tea, coffee and spices. The Commerce Ministry has indicated that whilst these changes apply universally to all trading partners, Indian exporters now have equal competitive opportunities – a more level playing field which had been denied with the 50% tariffs.India’s annual exports of the commodities that have been exempted from the reciprocal tariffs stood at over $1 billion – this includes fruits and nuts, processed foods, spices, tea and coffee, essential oils, and vegetable and edible roots.“Now our exports will have a level playing field,” Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce Darpan Jain said during a press briefing.

How much will India benefit from Trump’s tariff exemptions?

India’s agricultural exporters stand to gain, with experts believing that this could help restore demand to previous levels.Whilst EU and Vietnamese suppliers faced duties of 15-20%, Indian exporters of tea, coffee, spices and cashew nuts faced steeper challenges when Trump increased tariffs up to 50% on specific Indian products, including the 25% penalty charge from end-August on India’s Russian oil imports.According to Ajay Sahai, director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), exports worth between $2.5 billion and $3 billion will benefit from these tariff exemptions.“This order opens space for premium, speciality and value-added products,” he said. “Exporters who shift towards higher-value segments will be better protected from price pressures and can tap rising consumer demand,” he told Reuters.Agneshwar Sen, Trade Policy Leader, EY India told TOI, “Dropping the reciprocal tariffs on certain agricultural products by the US, is a gain for Indian exporters. It cuts landed costs, making Indian agricultural goods price competitive against suppliers from Latin America and Southeast Asia.”According to Agneshwar Sen, the US retail and food-processing sectors will now get an opportunity to reduce their shop floor prices on nuts, processed foods, spices, tea and coffee, essential oils, and vegetable oils.“This US action is a move in the right direction to finalise the Bilateral trade (BTA) deal. As the Commerce minister has indicated that a fair result for Indian agriculture is one of India’s primary demands. It will be useful for India to seek extension of this reciprocal tariff revocation even on marine products which alone was around $2 billion last year,” he added.However, some experts are of the view that Latin American, African and ASEAN nations are expected to see greater benefits in trade.According to an analysis by Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) founder Ajay Srivastava, for the tariff-exempt products identified in the order, India today supplies only $548 million of America’s $50.6-billion import basket – reflecting a narrow export footprint dominated by a few winners.

“The shift in US tariff policy could marginally strengthen India’s competitive position in spices and niche horticulture, but the broader gains will accrue mainly to major Latin American, African, and ASEAN farm exporters unless India expands scale, builds cold-chain capacity, and diversifies its agricultural export basket,” says GTRI.Exporters remain cautious about potential benefits, citing elevated shipping expenses, fierce rivalry from Vietnam and Indonesia, alongside stringent US quality standards as limiting factors.“Tariff relief is important, but market recovery also depends on logistics and our ability to match prices,” one exporter said.

India’s exports to the US: Impact of Trump’s 50% tariffs

Interestingly, the October data reveals that while India’s exports to the US have dropped year-on-year, they have increased month-on-month compared to September 2025. Exports to the United States reached $6.3 billion in October, showing a 14.5% increase from September’s $5.5 billion. This marks the first monthly growth since May, despite the ongoing 50% tariff.Whilst October 2025 exports of $6.3 billion show an 8.6% decline compared to October 2024’s $6.9 billion, the monthly improvement from September is encouraging according to GTRI.Despite October’s improvement, India’s exports to the US saw a 28.4% reduction between May and October.India’s exports to the US dropped by approximately 12% compared to the previous year in September, reaching $5.43 billion following the massive tariff hike. Agricultural exports from India, projected to contribute $5.7 billion to the nation’s total US exports of $87 billion in 2024, experienced notable impact.Government officials involved in trade and agricultural export regulations indicated that these relaxations in tariffs by the Trump administration send an encouraging signal for current US–India trade negotiations and might reduce export constraints caused by this year’s duty increases.GTRI has also said that the US no longer has any case to continue with the 25% penal tariffs on India for its crude oil imports from Russia. India has substantially stepped up procurement of petroleum products from the US, while reducing its crude oil imports from Russia. GTRI notes that Trump has himself admitted that India’s crude imports from Russia have come down drastically.“India is now one of the few major economies sharply increasing its purchases of US oil and LPG. With no remaining strategic, economic, or political rationale for the surcharge, Washington should withdraw the 25% tariff immediately rather than tie its removal to a protracted trade deal. Such a move would demonstrate that US policy remains principled, responsive, and fair to partners that have acted on American concerns,” says GTRI.Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal recently said any ‘good news’ on India-US trade deal would be heard when the terms of the deal are ‘balanced, fair and equitable’.