The clock is ticking as India nears the April 2 deadline when reciprocal tariffs, announced by US President Donald Trump, are expected to kick in. President Trump had also called out India as a ‘tariff abuser’ After the Indian Commerce Minister’s visit to the US, Trump said that India had agreed to cut tariffs although the Indian side is yet to come out with an official statement. Lowering tariffs on auto imports could be the pacifier that Trump needs. The auto industry has said that reducing tariffs would have a minimal impact on the sector as India’s exports to and imports from the US are limited. The choice for India could be to either extend the lower tariffs to Europe or to go ahead with tariff reductions just for the US regardless of what the World Trade Organization rules say. In the past, India has had run-ins with the WTO – A WTO panel had ruled against India in a dispute with the EU, Japan and Taiwan over import duties on IT products. India has also faced allegations of exceeding market support for wheat and rice – “potentially distorting” global trade.