Insta
US Proposes Up To 25 Per Cent Tariff On 40 Indian Products In Response To Equalisation Levy Imposed By India
US President Joe Biden gestures during a meeting. Photo credit: GUILLERMO LEGARIA/AFP/GettyImages
The Biden administration in the United States (US) has proposed to impse retaliatory tariffs of up to 25 per cent on import of around 40 Indian products in response to India's imposition of equalisation levy or digital services tax (DST) on non-resident e-commerce operators, reports Economic Times.
On Thursday (25 March), United States Trade Representative (USTR) said that the tariffs would collect duties on goods from India in the range of amount of DST which India is likely to collect from the US-based e-commerce operators. USTR has estimated the collections to be about $55 million per year.
USTR's report on Next Steps of 301 Digital Services Taxes Investigations states, "In particular, USTR proposes to impose additional tariffs of up to 25% ad valorem on an aggregate level of trade that would collect duties on goods of India in the range of the amount of DST that India is expected to collect from US companies."
It should be noted that USTR has proposed similar action against five other nations, namely, Austria, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom (UK).
The USTR's proposal on retaliatory tariffs comes as in January, USTR had observed, that the DSTs adopted by Austria, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the UK were subject to action under Section 301 as they discriminated against US' digital companies, were inconsistent with principles of international taxation, and burdened US-based companies.
It should be noted that the 2 per cent equalisation levy, or the so-called Google tax, came into effect on 1 April 2020.
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
