From July 24, 10% tariffs levied by US set to expire

From July 24, the 10% tariffs levied by the US on exports from most parts of the world are set to expire but new tariffs may come in with the two ongoing investigations by the office of the US Trade Representative.

But for now, the expiry of the 10% tariffs from 9:31 am IST on Friday is expected to spell significant relief to a large part of India’s exports to the US. A report by the Global Trade Research Initiative said that from that time, around 92% of India's $87.2 billion merchandise exports to the United States will once again be subject only to the normal WTO-compatible US most-favoured-nation (MFN) tariffs.

“About 8% of India's exports, including steel, aluminium and auto components covered by Section 232, remain subject to high national security tariffs with no relief,” it said.

Exporters are also looking forward to the relief from the expiry of tariffs. “Now exporters will have to pay only the MFN tariff. We expect Indian exports to become more competitive and demand to go up in the US,” said Ajay Sahai, Director General and CEO, Federation of Indian Export Organisations.

Soon after the US Supreme Court struck down the reciprocal tariffs in February 2026, US President Donald Trump had announced a 10% global tariff on exports from all countries under Section 122 of the US Trade Act of 1974. As per the White House Proclamation, the US had imposed for a period of 150 days, a temporary import surcharge of 10% ad valorem, on articles imported into the United States, effective February 24, 2026. 

The relief however, could be short lived and India is also awaiting clarity on what happens next. Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal had earlier noted that the decision on what lies ahead is with the US government. “There are already MFN tariffs,” he had said.

The USTR has opened two investigations under Section 301 on several countries including India on charges of forced labour and excess manufacturing capacity. The office of the USTR has proposed a 12.5% tariff in the forced labour case. The US has also announced steep tariffs of upto 200% on generic medicine imports.

The GTRI report also warned that with the possibility of country-specific actions and sectoral tariffs on products such as generic medicines, Indian exporters continue to face considerable uncertainty in their largest overseas market