Indian exporters whose goods were subject to reciprocal and penal tariffs of about $12 billion in the US market can hope to get a portion of it back as the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has started accepting applications for refunds. The refunds will be issued only to importers on record and authorized customs brokers with a US bank account. Any gain from the refund process for Indian exporters would depend on the way they structured their transactions when between April and August last year.

The US increased additional tariffs on India, starting from10% in April to 50% by August. "About 53% of India's exports to the US, mainly textiles and apparel, faced these high tariffs, making them the biggest contributors to refunds. Of the estimated $12 billion linked to India, textiles and apparel may account for about $4 billion, engineering goods another $4 billion, and chemicals about $2 billion, with smaller shares from other sectors", Founder of Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) Ajay Srivastava said.