Surat jewellers unlikely to benefit despite expiry of Trump tariffs:New taxes take effect at same 10% rate as earlier ones

India’s gems and jewellery exporters will not get any relief despite expiry of temporary 10% US tariffs on Friday, 24 July, 2026. Indian exporters will continue to pay tariffs at the same rate as the US government has quickly implemented new tariffs at same 10% rate as earlier ones on goods sent to US by counties including India. So, jewellers and other exporters are unlikely to get any relief despite expiry of duties that Trump administration had levied under the Section 122 of the US Trade Act, 1974. America levies 10% tariffs on India for failing to ban imports from countries encouraging forced labour: The US government has invoked section 301 of the US Trade Act, 1974 under the US Constitution to impose 10% to 12.5% duties on all imports from 60 countries including India to America. News agency ANI noted that the Trump administration has charged 10% tariffs on India under this particular section. Separate 10% US tariffs under Section 122 expires today? Separate 10% tax was introduced on 24 February, 2026, under Section 122 of the US Trade Act of 1974. According to the US Constitution, this emergency tax can only last for 150 days. Because Congress (US Parliament) has not extended it, the tax automatically ends at 12:01 am EDT on July 24. No benefit despite expiry of Section 122 tariffs for Indian exporters: As new tariffs of 10% under Section 301 take affect instead of taxes levied under Section 122 that too at the same rate, so, the net taxes that Indian exporters would be required to pay for sending goods to US effectively remain same. New tariffs may be coming
Trade experts warn that the relief may be temporary. The US government is considering new import taxes between 10% and 12.5% under the Section 301 trade laws. In 2024, India exported gems and jewellery worth $9.94 billion (about ₹87,000 crore) to the US. Who benefits? Indian gems and jewellery exporters will partially benefit as they are likely to pay 10%-15% lower tariffs on US exports from today. Gujarat is the largest exporter of such items. How much lower tax are jewellery exporters likely to pay? Current Tariff: On jewellery: 6%+10% = 16%; on diamond: 0%+10% = 10% Before the 10% tariff exemption, the tariff on jewellery was 16% and on diamond it was 10% Example: A $100 jewellery sells for $116 in the US. Now: New Tariff: Jewellery: 6%+0% = 6%; Diamond: 0%+0% = 0% New Cost: A $100 worth natural diamond will cost same only in America. Impact: Relief for Indian exporters American buyers will get to buy comparatively cheaper jewellery items.

How much gems jewellery India exported in FY26? Total Export Value: India exported US$ 27.72 billion (₹2,44,827 crore) worth of gems and jewellery in FY26, according to Niryat portal. Product Mix: Cut and polished diamonds remained the largest product, accounting for 43.9% of total exports, followed by gold jewellery at 41%. Gujarat is India’s leading gems and jewellery exporter Gujarat’s Share: 31.5% (about one-third) of India’s total gems and jewellery exports in FY26. Key Driving Hub: Surat in Gujarat remains the world’s leading center for cutting and polishing natural and lab-grown diamonds. Top States Combined: Gujarat and Maharashtra together accounted for nearly 88% of India’s total gems and jewellery exports during the fiscal year. India’s tariff situation: a rollercoaster ride India has really gone through a rollercoaster ride since 2 April 2025. The BJP government has faced a series of changing tariffs from the US. After all the ‘Trump Tariff’ tantrums and the US Supreme Court’s actions on this matter, the final import duty to be levied on Indian exports to America currently probably stands at 10%. But if the current terms and conditions of the India-US interim trade deal remain unchanged after signing, as claimed earlier by US President Donald Trump, then in that case, the tariffs are currently at 18%. The US initially imposed a 10% baseline tariff on some Indian goods. This was later increased to 26% and then cut to 25%. Additional Penalties: The US added another 25% tariff on India for buying oil from Russia, bringing the total up to a hefty 50%. Easing Tensions: After some discussions, the US agreed to lower the total tariff to 18% and remove the extra penalty for the Russian oil deal. (But this has not been implemented yet.) The Latest Change: Then, the US announced a temporary, across-the-board import surcharge of 10% on many goods. This means that Indian goods currently face a 10% reciprocal tariff, which is a significant drop from the previous 25%. Initial Tariffs: Before 2 April 2025, only MFN duties were imposed on India. How far has the trade deal between India America reached? India and America have been working on a trade deal for a long time. Recently, ministers from both sides have claimed that the deal is almost complete and details will be out very soon.