Budget 2026: FM treads a fine line between Trump pressure, home concerns

With Trump tariffs looming large, many expected that the Budget would seek to address American complaints about Indian trade levies. But the FM has not made any explicit moves, only taken minor steps to aid American exporters.

Almonds and walnuts are among items on which import duties have been lowered, with the US being among the top sources of shipments. These are also product segments for which there is rising demand in India, with production not going up at the same pace.




Some experts pointed to a pattern in the duty changes. “The Budget’s tariff exemptions align with US strengths in aerospace, nuclear tech, clean energy equipment, electronics and medical devices, quietly improving market access for US firms to India,” said trade expert Ajay Srivastava.

The changes are in line with govt priorities — be it medical devices or N-power, where certainty in policy regime has been provided — while India sticks to its red lines on farm goods, dairy products and GM food. There are concessions for inputs used by labour-intensive sectors like textiles, footwear and shrimps, which have been affected by US tariffs. Budget also provided sops for units in SEZs to sell in the domestic market.

The FM, however, played down the impact of global uncertainty. “It is something that occupies the minds of officials when we are preparing the Budget. But I will not attribute it to be the cause for any one step. Across the board we kept that in mind,” she said.