A new American draft law on sanctions and customs duties threatens to increase tension in relations between India and the United States, in the latest development that puts pressure on trade ties between the two countries, amid disagreements over American tariffs on Indian goods and Washington’s rapprochement with Pakistan, India’s neighbor and competitor.
The draft law comes at a time when trade relations between New Delhi and Washington have witnessed a series of disputes over customs duties and India’s purchase of Russian oil, despite the two countries continuing to negotiate a bilateral trade agreement.
Below is a look at the transformations and developments that shaped relations between India and the United States during President Donald Trump's second term, according to Reuters.
- February 2025
Trump announced a new tariff system under which the United States would impose the same tariff rates as India.
The two countries also agreed to work towards a limited trade agreement, and set a goal to double the volume of bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030.
- April 2025
New Delhi and Washington have completed the terms of reference for bilateral trade negotiations.
The United States imposed customs duties of 26 percent on a number of Indian imports, but suspended their application shortly thereafter for 90 days, while maintaining a 10 percent duty on all imports.
- July 2025
Trump announced tariffs of 25 percent on all Indian goods, then raised them to 50 percent in August, attributing this to New Delhi's continued purchase of Russian oil.
New Delhi described the tariffs as “unfair” and pledged to defend its national interests.
- February 2026
Trump announced a trade agreement that would reduce US customs duties on Indian goods to 18 percent, in exchange for India stopping its purchases of Russian oil and lowering trade barriers.
The two countries also issued a temporary framework for their trade agreement.
Later, the US Supreme Court invalidated the emergency tariffs imposed by Washington, after which Trump announced the imposition of a temporary 10 percent tariff on India and other countries for a period of 150 days.
- July 2026
As the 150-day period expired, Trump announced a new 10 percent tariff on imports from India, saying that India was among a number of economies that had not limited their imports of products made using forced labor.
India said that about 45 percent of its exports to the United States include products exempt from the duty, adding that it is still engaged in talks with Washington regarding a bilateral trade agreement.
- September 2026
The US House of Representatives approved a draft law on sanctions and customs duties aimed at increasing economic pressure on Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine, and expanding sanctions on Iran.
The legislation also authorized Trump to impose customs duties of up to 100 percent on goods from countries, including India, with the aim of reducing their dependence on Russian oil and gas.
New Delhi said it had warned Washington that such measures might affect relations between the two countries, adding that it would work with trade and industrial bodies to deal with the repercussions of the draft law.
The country's underlying economic growth appears to have been slightly stronger than previously estimated, Britain's statistics agency said on Thursday, based on a new methodology for measuring productivity.
The Office for National Statistics said that an empirical approach to estimating changes in productivity showed that output growth per hour worked averaged 1.3 percent annually between 1997 and 2024, according to Reuters.
This compares to a growth of 1.1 percent under the office's current approach, according to the authority.
According to the new methodology, output per hour of work was estimated to be approximately 41 percent higher than in 1997, compared to 34 percent according to the current methodology.
The new methodology, which will replace Britain's current labor productivity statistics, uses IRS data on the number of workers on the payroll, along with the Office for National Statistics' main labor force survey, which has suffered from low levels of response since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The new approach also includes a jobs survey that the ONS sends to employers, among other inputs.
Successive British governments have pledged to increase productivity to accelerate economic growth, improve living standards, and relieve some pressures on public finances.
Last month, the Resolution Foundation, a research firm, said that its measure of productivity showed that annual growth in output per hour worked averaged 1.1 percent during the two years ending at the end of June 2026, compared to an annual decline of 0.7 percent during the previous two years.
Cleodna Taylor, head of productivity statistics at the Office for National Statistics, said Thursday's estimates halved the extent of the productivity slowdown in Britain.
Taylor added in a blog post that the “productivity puzzle” still exists, albeit to a less clear degree than before, as these data still indicate a fundamental shift in the British economy following the financial crisis in 2007-2008.
The total quantities of shipping issued and received through Saudi ports exceeded 341 million tons during the year 2025, with both exports and imports increasing compared to the previous year, according to data from the “Maritime Transport Statistics 2025” bulletin issued by the General Authority for Statistics.
The amount of exported shipping reached 227.2 million tons during the year, an increase of 2.1 percent compared to 222.5 million tons in 2024, while the amount of incoming shipping reached 114.3 million tons, an increase of 5 percent on an annual basis, compared to 108.9 million tons in the previous year.
King Fahd Industrial Port in Yanbu topped the ports in terms of exports, accounting for 50.7 percent of total exports, with a quantity of 115.2 million tons. On the other hand, King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam came at the top of the ports receiving incoming shipments, with a total of 39.2 million tons, representing about 34.3 percent of total imports.
Container and cargo handling
The total number of containers exported and imported through the Kingdom’s ports recorded about 3.89 million containers during 2025, an increase of 52.9 percent compared to 2024, distributed between 1.940 million export containers and 1.954 million import containers.
The total goods handled in Saudi ports amounted to more than 298 million tons during the year, and King Fahd Industrial Port in Yanbu accounted for the largest share in terms of weight of goods handled, at 33 percent.
Jeddah Islamic Port topped the list of ports in terms of handling standard containers, with a share of 47.3 percent, while liquid bulk goods came at the forefront of the types of goods handled, with a total exceeding 144 million tons.
The total quantities of transshipment goods in the Kingdom's ports reached more than 97 million tons during 2025, distributed between about 13.1 million tons of unloaded goods and 84.1 million tons of loaded goods. The number of standard containers in circulation within transshipment operations, whether unloaded or loaded, exceeded two million standard containers.
7848 ships in port
The total number of ships arriving at the Kingdom’s ports reached 7,848 ships during 2025, led by Jeddah Islamic Port with 2,677 ships, followed by Jubail Commercial Port with 1,256 ships, then King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam with 1,030 ships, and NEOM Port with 828 ships.
Regarding unloaded and loaded goods, their total weight reached more than 210.6 million tons during 2025, a 37 percent decrease compared to 2024. The total was distributed between 99.3 million tons of unloaded goods and 111.3 million tons of loaded goods.
King Fahd Industrial Port in Jubail topped the list of ports in terms of the total weight of unloaded and loaded goods with a share of 30 percent, followed by Jeddah Islamic Port with 25.5 percent, then King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam with 24.4 percent. Jubail Commercial Port recorded 5.9 percent, King Abdullah Port 5.5 percent, and Ras Al-Khair Port 4.7 percent, while the remaining 4.1 percent was distributed among the rest of the ports.
1.1 million passengers
Statistics showed that the number of passengers arriving and departing through the Kingdom’s ports reached about 1.1 million passengers during 2025, an increase of 20.1 percent compared to 2024.
Jazan Port topped the list of ports in terms of the number of arriving and departing passengers, with more than 489.6 thousand passengers, followed by Jeddah Islamic Port with about 413.8 thousand passengers, then NEOM Port with more than 187 thousand passengers.
The total number of cruise passengers reached about 174.5 thousand passengers during the year.
