India has extended its exemption on cotton import duties to December 2025, the Finance Ministry said on 28 August. The move is aimed at easing raw-material costs for textiles and ready-made garment exporters and cushioning the immediate blow from higher input prices linked to Washington’s new levies. The policy action comes as the United States doubled duties on a swath of Indian goods to as much as 50% with effect from 28 August, citing New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil. The tariffs target labour-intensive shipments such as garments, footwear, gems and shrimp. A senior Indian official said communication channels with Washington remain open and resolving the tariff dispute will be essential before stalled trade-deal talks can resume. Economists warn the measures could shave 0.6–0.8 percentage point off India’s growth in the coming year; Jefferies estimates a direct hit of US$55-60 billion. A Reuters poll forecasts GDP growth slowed to 6.7% in the April–June quarter even before the tariff shock. Indian stock benchmarks extended losses and the rupee gave up early gains as investors reassessed export prospects, although the central bank maintains the overall impact will be ‘minimal’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking to offset the fallout through an Asia tour that starts this week. In Tokyo he is expected to secure investment pledges exceeding ¥10 trillion (about US$68 billion) and sign an economic-security pact covering semiconductors, critical minerals and artificial intelligence. Modi will then travel to Tianjin for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, where he is scheduled to hold his first bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in seven years and confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Analysts say deeper economic links with Japan and a tentative thaw with China could broaden India’s supply chains and strengthen its negotiating hand with Washington. New Delhi, however, continues to prioritise talks with the United States to roll back the punitive tariffs and stabilise a relationship that both sides view as strategically important.