The headlines flashing all over the internet make it clear that tariffs will fall, markets will open and lakhs of jobs could follow. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has also repeated the same.

But wait.. tariffs are not some abstract idea that will never affect how you live your life and what earns you a penny. They actually decide what Indian exporters can sell to people in other countries. Not only this, they also decide what things companies will make and how much consumers (you) will have to pay for things. They even decide our next jobs and where and with what volatility our next check will come from. (Told you, they’re kinda important).  

Before all the noise takes over it is worth asking a simple question, “What are tariffs and why is this India-US deal so important presently?”

What Exactly Are Tariffs?

A tariff is a government-imposed tax on goods that cross borders. When a product enters a country, say, Indian textiles paving their way into the United States, the importing country is rightfully eligible to add a duty on top of the product’s price. That duty is simply the tariff. 

Tariffs are usually put into three groups:

• Ad valorem tariffs, this is charged as a percentage of the product’s value

• Specific tariffs, this is charged as a flat amount per unit

• Compound tariffs, combining both tariffs 

So why do countries impose tariffs on things in the first place?

Countries impose tariffs because they want to control what comes inside their borders. This helps the country make money from the tariffs. 

For example, if a country makes a lot of cars, they might impose tariffs on cars from other countries. This makes it harder for people to buy cars from other countries so they are more likely to buy cars made in their own country. Countries like the United States, China and Japan impose tariffs on all sorts of things, including food, clothes and electronics. Tariffs are a part of how countries do business with each other.

Another reason for tariffs is that they act like a tool. Countries use tariffs as bargaining chips to get what they want from other countries. They can increase tariffs, stop them for a while or even use them as a threat. 

What should a tariff-less world look like? 

Tariffs falling means that countries are getting rid of these costs. So when tariffs fall, people can buy things from countries at a lower price. 

Tariffs are like the brakes on a machine. When tariffs are high, trade gets really slow.. When they come down, trade starts moving faster and the good things about it spread out. For people who export things from India lower tariffs are great because Indian goods can be sold in the United States at lower prices.

Tariffs can be sneaky, like that. The biggest impact is usually not about buying things, it is about our jobs at work. 

Employment: The Real Centre of This Deal

Trade agreements are sold on one promise more than any other: jobs. That isn’t just political messaging as tariff shifts genuinely reshape hiring.

When a country’s export growth happens, it makes jobs for people directly and it happens quickly with the export growth. 

When Indian goods are cheaper to sell in the United States market people want to buy more of these goods. This means the demand for goods goes up. When Indian goods production goes up, it needs workers to do the job. 

Some industries are going to do well and they include:

• textiles and apparel

• leather and footwear

• pharmaceuticals

• chemicals and plastics

• engineering goods

• home décor and artisanal exports

These are labour-heavy sectors. Even a modest export jump creates employment quickly because production requires hands, not just machines. That is why the government is talking about lakhs of jobs, especially for women and youth concentrated in export manufacturing clusters.

A Concrete Example: Leather Workers Coming Back

One of the clearest real-world signals came from West Bengal’s leather sector. The industry employs around 500,000 workers, and after tariff uncertainty and demand shocks, many workers were laid off. Following the interim US deal, industry voices have suggested that tariff relief could trigger rehiring, because export orders may rise again. That’s the kind of employment impact that doesn’t stay on paper and shows up in paychecks too.

Winners, Risks, and the Fine Print

There are some winners in this deal. For example, textiles are one of them. 32 Percent of India’s textile exports go to the US. 

There are worries too. Some farmer groups are concerned that cheaper farm products from the United States will hurt the people who grow food in our country. The government says that the dairy farmers and other important farm sectors will still be safe. When it comes to trade agreements, you do not always get everything you want. The United States farm products and our farm products will have to coexist in the market. 

It is easy to think of this as something that only affects the picture but the ripple effects of this actually hit really close to home. If you are entering the job market, watch the hiring surge in:

• export manufacturing

• logistics and warehousing

• supply chain management

• compliance and trade documentation

• global sales and marketing

If you are building skills the next time you can really improve is, in:

• international business

• trade finance

• export marketing

• operations and supply chains

If you are an entrepreneur or MSME owner, the lower tariff barriers make the United States market feel closer. Exporting is not just for companies anymore. Now businesses like niche businesses, apparel clusters, handicraft makers and food processors can sell their products to people around the world. The export market is open to MSME owners and entrepreneurs and can take advantage of the global demand for their products.

The best way to understand this deal is to not look just at the headline, but to also look at the industries that are starting to hire people. 

Why This Deal Is Beyond Just Tariffs

This interim agreement is not just about percentages on customs sheets. It resets India-US trade after a year of punitive duties. It signals cooperation on supply chains. And it is telling of a broader pact that is expected by March 2026.

So, what now?

Tariffs can be confusing. They affect our daily life in a big way. This trade framework creates chances for India to export a lot of things which could be worth a significant amount of money and it might even create more jobs in industries that need a lot of workers like the India-US trade framework. 

This means that factories will run for hours, small and medium sized enterprises like MSMEs will get bigger and workers will find jobs that they could not find last year.