U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to impose a 50% tariff will not have a direct impact on the cement sector, but it may affect the overall sentiment, says Parth Jindal, managing director of JSW Cement.

“As an industry, we are well-insulated from these tariffs. We neither import raw materials nor export finished goods to the U.S., so there’s no material impact on the cement industry. However, it does affect sentiment, particularly among private sector players and international investors,” said Jindal during an interaction with Fortune India after the IPO press conference of JSW Cement in Delhi today.

“Our focus must remain on the domestic economy and the needs of our 1.4 billion people. If that means buying cheaper oil from any one bank, any bargain, so be it, it’s in our national interest,” he said.

He added that what’s happening in the U.S. is unfortunate. “They’ve been a natural ally, and our bilateral relations have been strong for three decades. I hope this is only a temporary disruption.”

After his stern warning to raise duties on Indian exports "substantially," Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff on India in response to its continued purchase of Russian oil, thus taking the overall tariff rate on the country’s exports to 50%. While the initial tariff of 25% is applicable from August 1, the new tax levy will be effective after 21 days, i.e., August 27.

On JSW Cement IPO, Parth Jindal said, “It’s a momentous occasion for the group. It is the largest IPO the group has ever undertaken, at ₹3,600 crore. We’ve never raised this much capital in an IPO before.”

“Our last IPO, JSW Infrastructure, has seen its value rise nearly 4.5 times since listing. I hope the retail investor community supports JSW Cement in the same way, as we are a young and rapidly growing company. I’m confident and hopeful that we will receive the public’s continued trust and support,” he added.

Speaking on industry dynamics, he said, “The cement industry is going through a purple patch, and the JSW Group has performed exceptionally well across our steel, energy, and infrastructure businesses.”

JSW Cement, a part of the Sajjan Jindal-promoted JSW Group, looks to raise ₹3,600 crore via IPO, which is a mixture of a fresh issue of equity shares worth ₹1,600 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) amounting to ₹2,000 crore by existing shareholders.

The IPO proceed will be used for capacity expansion, with the company aiming to increase it from the current 20 million tonnes to 60 million tonnes in the coming years, he said.

As per the DRHP, JSW Cement aims to use ₹800 crore for funding the cost of establishing a new integrated cement unit at Nagaur (Rajasthan), and ₹720 crore to repay debts availed by it. A part of the capital will be utilised to meet general corporate purposes. As of March 31, 2024, the total debt under the various financing arrangements of the company stood at ₹5,835.76 crore.

The JSW group company plans to set up a greenfield integrated cement unit at Nagaur, consisting of clinker capacity of 3.30 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) along with grinding capacity of 2.50 MTPA. The Nagaur project will utilise limestone to manufacture clinker, which will further be milled to produce ordinary portland cement (OPC) and portland pozzolana cement (PPC).

Currently, JSW Cement has plants in Karnataka's Vijayanagar, Andhra Pradesh's Nandyal, West Bengal's Salboni, Odisha's Jajpur, and Maharashtra's Dolvi.