DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, APRIL 4, 2025, LUCKNOW, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 SHOCK THERAPY SENDS U.S. MARKETS PLUNGING: DOW DOWN 3.4%, NASDAQ CRASHES 5.8%, OIL SLIDES 6% Meet the Trump Tariffs the World India exports hit with 27% tariff, Asian peers face higher duties What India needs for the road ahead RAVI DUTTA MISHRA AS US President Donald Trump brings the curtains down on the age of globalisation, India willhavetounlearnmuch of itsapproachtointernational trade developed since the early 1990s. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to WashingtoninFebruary,thegovernment’sintensetradetalkswith NEW DELHI, APRIL 3 BUSINESS AS USUAL US PRESIDENT Donald Trump launched the most aggressive global tariff war yet, even by his own standards set in the first term, dealing a blow to the postWorld War II liberal trade order that America helped build. He set the reciprocal tariff for India at 27 per cent, lower than many Asian rivals, but one that would impactexportingsectorssuchas gems and jewellery, and auto components. The announcements roiled marketsThursdaymorningwith the Dow industrials dropping 1,450 points, or 3.4 per cent, and the Nasdaq plunging 5.8 per cent. The turmoil didn’t stop with the stock markets; oil slid more than 6 per cent and the dollarfelltoitslowestlevelof the year dropping 2 per cent against the euro and Japanese yen. On Wednesday, Trump claimed his tariffs will “reverse the economic damage left by the previousadministration”andput America on a path to a “new golden age”. As a first step in re- MANISH SAHU PRAYAGRAJ, APRIL 3 the Trump Administration over the last few days, and its cautious response to the imposition of 27 per cent tariffs on Indian imports underline Delhi’s recognition of thedramaticshiftinAmerica’sdomestic politics on trade, thehistoricturnintheevolution of the global economicorderandtheneed ● for a prudent handling of the current moment. At the White House Rose Garden ceremony announcing a E BY UNNY EXPLAINED NEW DELHI, APRIL 3 INSIDE C RAJA MOHAN CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In dark cloud, a few silver Pharma gains on exemption, but gems, linings for India: Tariff level, trade talks, reforms jewellery and auto may take a hit Comparative US President Donald Trump announces the new tariffs at the White House Wednesday. AP THE EDITORIAL PAGE HOW TO TRUMP TARIFFS By SHOUMITRO CHATTERJEE AFTER THE TARIFFS India must negotiate with US, pursue a more ambitious agenda for trade reform PAGE 10 setting the trade order, he imposed a blanket 10 per cent tariff CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Waqf Bill set to get Parliament stamp, BJD, YSRCP say no whip AGGAM WALIA & RAVI DUTT MISHRA NEW DELHI, APRIL 3 THE TRUMP administration’s imposition of 27 per cent duty onimportsfromIndiaissettohit a range of sectors — from gems and jewellery and smartphones to solar photovoltaic modules P7 and auto-components. Steel, aluminium and automobiles,onwhichTrumphadalready imposed 25 per cent tariffs earlier in March, will not attract the new reciprocal tariffs. The executive order signed by the US President on April 2 also exempts, as of now, certain critical minerals, energy products, pharmaceuticals and bul- Supreme Court judges to make their assets public P8 lion, from US tariffs. Asmarketsreactedadversely to the sweeping tariff changes that the US announced for its trading partners, the Indian government said it is engaged with theindustryandexporterstoassess the situation and examine the implications. The Commerce and Industry CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Face-off with L-G, Omar writes to MHA on transfer of officials P8 ANIL SASI NEW DELHI, APRIL 3 US PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s announcement Wednesday of sweeping tariffs has deepened global anxiety and sent nations scrambling to respond. In the portents of dark economic clouds,thereare,asof now,three silver linings for India: advantage Tariffsworkonacomparative basis,andwhilethelevyimposed byonecountryonanotherisimportant, more consequential is the tariff rate applied on the latter’s competitors. So,whilethetariff slappedby theUSonIndiaiskey,whatcould CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 India, Thailand plan: Strategic partnership, strategic dialogue Prayagraj petitioners: ‘Given two hours before homes razed’ P8 A DAY after the Supreme Court termed the 2021 demolition of houses in Prayagraj as "inhuman and illegal”, Vijay Kumar Singh (46), whose home was among thosedestroyed,feltasenseofrelief.Thecourt’sacknowledgment that authorities had failed to follow due process was a longawaitedvalidationofhisstruggle. “No one can truly understand what we went through after the demolition,” said Singh, who runs a medical store in Prayagraj’s Beniganj area. “I bought the house just nine monthsbeforeitwastorndown, andafterthat,Iwasforcedtolive on rent again.” Vijay Kumar Singh’s rented house is just 800 metres from the plot where he once owned a home — a place that now exists only in his memories. Wanting to stay close to the life he had built, he found a house in the same locality. “After the demolition, we had nowhere to go. In that moment of crisis, we took shelter at a relative’s house. A few days later, we moved into a rented home,” he said. “I had put all my savings into buying that house. Now, at 46, I am starting over, trying to rebuild from nothing.” Singh, who lives with his wife Vandana and their two young children, avoids passing by his old home. “It’s too painful,” he said. “Every time I see that place, it reminds me of everything we lost.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Lucknow