India, Feb. 14 -- US President Donald Trump signed a measure on February 13, 2025, proposing reciprocal tariffs which could completely alter the trading relationship of the US with the rest of the world.

The term "reciprocal" refers to measures taken to ensure fairness in trade. Trump argues that many trading partners of the US are at a competitive advantage as they have higher tariffs (taxes on imported goods) compared to the US, thus putting American manufacturing at a disadvantage.

This is not something new. During the first Trump administration, the then-Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross proposed a hike in tariffs to match the partner countries' own import taxes and lower the rates only when those countries did.

Now Howard Lutnick, Tr...