Former BJP ally Shiv Sena slammed the move by the US to take India off the list of developing nations. In its mouthpiece, Saamana, the party said, "All the subsidies and benefits which India was getting would not be there now. Whenever a guest visits, he brings some gifts as a token of love, but President Trump broke the tradition. While India is preparing itself to welcome Trump, America has removed India from the list of developing countries. This is a big blow to our economy. With India on the list of developing countries, there used to be subsidies and tax benefits. Now, there will be nothing."

On February 10, 2020, the US removed India among some others from its list of developing countries that are exempt from investigations into whether they harm American industry with unjust subsidised exports. The US eliminated its special preferences for a list of self-declared developing countries that includes India. The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) is America’s oldest preferential trade scheme, which offered Indian exporters tariff-free access. This move by the US to take off India from the list of developing nations is expected to stop all chances of India reclaiming its benefits under the GSP scheme.