The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: A rating agency has warned that India, followed by South Korea and Thailand, are the most likely to face retaliatory tariffs from the US.
S&P Global, in its report ‘Asia-Pacific economies likely to be hit by US trade tariffs’, said that several South Asian countries could face higher tariffs under Trump. Among these, Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, and South Korea are more exposed to the US economy, putting them in a more vulnerable spot.
The report pointed out that bilateral negotiations could impact how the US imposes tariffs on partner economies. “We believe this might not be the end of it. Uncertainty is high because of the high leeway the US administration gives itself in imposing trade tariffs on partner economies, and bilateral negotiations can impact outcomes as well,” S&P said in the report.
While it said India was among the countries most likely to face tariffs, the agency also mentioned the domestic focus in India and Japan, which could offer the two countries some protection against the retaliatory tariffs.
US President Donald Trump had announced his intention to impose reciprocal tariffs on several countries including India. The US has already enacted additional 10% tariffs on imports from China and 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports.
The report said that some Asia-Pacific countries impose higher tariffs on US products than the US does on theirs. This could put them on the radar for retaliatory tariffs. Based on these tariff differentials, the rating agency concluded that India, followed by South Korea and Thailand, are the countries most at risk of facing trade retaliation.
Trump had called India’s tariffs on US products ‘unfair’ during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the states earlier this month. In an interview to Fox News, Trump had said that India will not be spared from reciprocal tariffs and that this was made clear to Modi during talks.