The new US law empowering President Donald Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent on Indian goods is a concern across sectors – from engineering to energy and from pharma to software.Even a fledgling industry like defence exports, where Indian companies are part of the global supply chain for big players like Boeing and Lockheed Martin, is unsure on how this will play out.The Commerce Ministry’s trade data for merchandise shows the exports to the US were $87 billion in the last fiscal. The exports to the US accounted for 19.78 per cent of all global exports from India.Reserve Bank of India data, released yesterday on IT services – classified separately from merchandise – pegged India’s software exports to the US at about $120 billion in this fiscal.A likely impact on Indian exports can be assessed only after Washington announces the tariff rate, product coverage and implementation schedule. Trump on Friday signed the ‘Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act’, which seeks to impose steep levies on Moscow and its top energy buyers – India and China.The high-impact trade blow comes just 18 months after Trump hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House in February last year. A statement put out by the White House had then said “the two leaders set a bold new goal for bilateral trade – ‘Mission 500’ – aiming to more than double total bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030”.The India-US trade is anchored by high-value manufacturing, technology-driven goods, and large-scale industrial exports. India’s main exports to the US included drug formulations and biologicals, software, refined petroleum products, telecom instruments, precious and semi-precious stones, vehicle and auto components, gold and other precious metal jewellery, ready-made garments of cotton, including accessories, and products of iron and steel.Imports included crude oil, petroleum products, coal, coke, cut and polished diamonds, electric machinery, aircraft, spacecraft and parts, and gold.Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) president SC Ralhan told news agency PTI, “We are very worried and concerned. If the US imposes high tariffs, it will completely halt our exports to the US. No importer can afford this high level of tariffs.”Another analyst said this move could be a pressure tactic on countries like India by the Trump administration ahead of the US midterm elections in November. Import duties make goods expensive in the importing country. Besides, a few other factors also play a role in this. For example, if duties are lower for nations such as Bangladesh, Vietnam and Thailand, India could be outcompeted.Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) chairman Mohit Singla said the US move was a cause of “major worry” for Indian exporters. “If imposed, it can severely impact certain sectors. It can create disruptions in the business relations of the two countries,” Singla said.Think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI)’s founder Ajay Srivastava said: “India should not trade its energy security for temporary tariff relief. Neither signing a trade agreement nor ending Russian oil purchases will protect India from future US action under Section 301, sectoral tariffs or other trade laws”.