Insta
US Invokes Trade War On India? Concessions To 50 Indian Goods Revoked, No Longer Eligible For GSP Benefits
Weavers in India working on their crafts. (Representative image) (Indranil Bhoumik/Mint via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump revoked duty-free concessions that were granted to 50 products from India on Thursday (1 November). Most of these are handloom and agricultural products, Press Trust of India reported.
Mr Trump signed off a presidential proclamation making these goods ineligible to benefit from duty-free provisions under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP). GSP is a US trade preference program which promotes growth in developing countries. It does so by eliminating duties on goods that are imported into the US from beneficiary countries. 120 countries are part of the program.
According to an official of the US Trade Representative, the delisted products “will no longer qualify for duty-free preferences under the GSP programme but may continue to be imported subject to regular Most Favoured Nation duty-rates.”
India had urged the US in June 2018 to refrain from revoking GSP and Puneet Roy Kundal, Minister Commerce at the Indian Embassy had said in a statement that any withdrawal of benefits "would be discriminatory and detrimental to the development, finance and trade needs of India - a vast and diverse developing country with unique challenges.” India has a trade surplus to the tune of $23 billion (2017) with the US.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.
Latest
