Solution to tariff issues with US likely in eight to ten weeks: CEA

Kolkata

 Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran on Thursday said he expects that a solution to the tariff issues with the US is likely to arrive in the next eight to ten weeks.
The additional 25 per cent tariff imposed by the US on Indian products for the country's purchases of Russian oil came into effect in August, bringing the total amount of levy imposed on New Delhi to 50 per cent.
Speaking at an interactive session organised by Bharat Chamber of Commerce here, Nageswaran said, "Underneath the surface, conversations are going on between the two governments. My hunch is that in the next eight to ten weeks, we will likely see a solution to the tariffs imposed by the US on Indian goods."
He said that if the tariffs stayed on, there would be a drop in exports to the US.
"I hope that the penal tariff would possibly be removed by the end of November," Nageswaran said at an event organised by the Merchants Chamber of Commerce and Industry here later in the day.
He, however, clarifies that it is his intuition.
Terming India as an aspirational lower-middle-income economy, Nageswaran said real GDP growth in the first quarter of the current financial year was 7.8 per cent.
 Post the COVID pandemic, the Indian economy grew faster than many countries, he said.  The growth in manufacturing, services and agriculture will contribute to economic progress in a great way in the next two years, Nageswaran said, adding that consumption and investments will continue to anchor growth for the country.
 The recent relief in GST rates will give more disposable income in the hands of consumers, and urban consumption is likely to go up, the chief economic adviser said.