On 2 April, the US president Donal Trump announced a set of import tariffs on almost all countries. He claimed the measure was to eliminate trade imbalances and called them recirpocal. The Trump administration then applied individual tariffs rates depending on which countries had the largest trade deficits with the US.

The US first set a 3-month deadline for countries to make trade agreements with it or else the tariff would be imposed. Earlier this month, Trump unveiled revised tariffs on at least 20 countries including Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, threatening 30 percent on all goods imported into the US from Sri Lanka and 35 percent on goods from Bangladesh. He announced a new deadline of August 1.

Southasia’s economy, like much of the rest of the world, has been sustained and has grown due to access to the US markets. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh’s garment sectors are likely to be the most impacted by the tariffs. In India, there are worries over agriculture, steel, aluminium and pharmaceutical exports.

On this episode of State of Southasia, the economist Umesh Moramudali speaks to associate editor Nayantara Narayanan about the impacts of the Trump tariffs on Southasia – the hit on exports, the possible impact on unskilled labour, and the ramifications for balance of payments and debt restructuring in countries like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

This episode is also available on:

🎧 YouTube: https://youtu.be/nHMJavnrDEo

🎧 Apple podcasts: https://apple.co/44WDzlT

🎧 Himal website: https://www.himalmag.com/podcast/umeshmoramudali-trump-tariff-exports-srilanka-bangladesh

Episode notes:

Umesh Moramudali’s recommendations:

- The Wolf-Krugman Exchange (podcast)

- The Great Rebalancing: Trade, Conflict, and the Perilous Road Ahead for the World Economy – Michael Pettis (non-fiction)

- The Dragon’s Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa – Deborah Brautigam (non-fiction)

- Between Debt and the Devil – Adair Turner Further reading from Himal’s archives:

- Trump’s approach to Southasia bolsters China’s regional sway

- Jayati Ghosh on the USAID shocker and the politics of foreign aid: State of Southasia #19

- Trump’s aid cuts have broken global health – but we can fight back

- How the IMF bailout is changing Sri Lanka’s foreign policy

- Pakistan’s IMF bailout is not without political consequences

- Why did India fail to industrialise where East Asia succeeded?

- Elite capture is the real issue plaguing Pakistan’s economy

Himal Southasian is Southasia’s first and only regional news and analysis magazine. Stretching from Afghanistan to Burma, from Tibet to the Maldives, this region of more than 1.4 billion people shares great swathes of interlocking geography, culture and history. Yet today neighbouring countries can barely talk to one another, much less speak in a common voice. For three decades, Himal Southasian has strived to define, nurture, and amplify that voice.

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