India's Vedanta says Trump's tariffs damaging, seeks import curbs

By Neha Arora

June 4 (Reuters) - Indian metals-to-oil conglomerate Vedanta VDAN.NS said on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump's doubling of aluminium tariffs to 50% poses a threat to the Indian industry already struggling with surging imports.

Trump's latest round of tariffs on aluminium and steel, which took effect on Wednesday, have unsettled the global markets.

"The 50% tariff announced by Trump is damaging to the Indian aluminium industry, which is already under pressure from surging imports that threaten to create surplus and risk to domestic market access," a Vedanta spokesperson told Reuters.

The miner, which is the country's largest aluminium producer, urged the Indian government to implement tariffs to protect against imports.

"..There should be duty guard-rails for the aluminium industry as well which has so far invested more than $20 billion to set up the current domestic primary aluminium capacity," the spokesperson said.

India's cumulative aluminum exports fell 19% to 2.24 million metric tons in the fiscal year ended March 2025, according to government data.

Separately, the country's federal steel minister said earlier this week that the impact of Trump's steel tariffs would be minor on the local industry, as India, the world's second-largest crude steel producer, does not export to the U.S. in significant quantities.

In April, India imposed a 12% temporary tariff on some steel imports, locally known as a safeguard duty, to curb a surge in cheap shipments primarily from China.