Bengaluru, April 23 (IANS) Karnataka Large and Medium Industries Minister M.B. Patil held a meeting with senior officials of the department on Wednesday to review the potential impact of US-imposed tariffs, assess the progress of MoUs signed during the Global Investors Meet (GIM) – Invest Karnataka 2025, and discuss recent geopolitical developments affecting industries in the state.
The minister said that the US, which had earlier announced the imposition of tariffs on products imported from India, has currently put the decision on hold for three months.
“The meeting focused on the possible impact of these tariffs on Karnataka’s key sectors, including IT, BT, electronics, pharmaceuticals, defence-related products, and other industrial goods,” he said.
The Minister noted that Karnataka should treat this development as an opportunity.
He said that industries in other countries, which could be severely affected by the US tariffs, might consider relocating their operations to Karnataka.
He added that the meeting also discussed how this situation could be strategically leveraged to boost the state’s industrial growth, and what measures need to be taken to retain the MoUs that have already been signed.
“The Union government is deliberating on how to respond to the situation at the national level. Accordingly, Karnataka must also be prepared,” he said.
Michael, a Trade expert working with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), who attended the meeting virtually from US, said that the impact of the tariffs is still being analysed and that it is difficult to predict the overall effect at this point.
He added that China has already been subjected to massive tariffs, and the consequences of that are also under study.
Principal Secretary of the Industries Department S. Selvakumar and Commissioner Gunjan Krishna were also present at the meeting.
Earlier, the Karnataka government said that it exceeded the ambitious target set for the Global Investors Meet: Invest Karnataka 2025 of exploring Rs 10 lakh crore worth of investments.
Minister M.B. Patil said that investment commitments recognised/announced accounted for Rs 4.03 lakh crore, while MoUs signed accounted for Rs 6.23 lakh crore.
–IANS
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