India Revises Tariff Retaliation Plan At WTO After US Hike On Steel, Aluminium Duties: Report

India has updated its proposal at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to impose retaliatory duties on the United States after Washington doubled tariffs on certain steel and aluminium products, reported news agency PTI.

According to a WTO communication , this revision follows the US hike of tariffs from 25 per cent to 50 per cent as of June 3.

The US had initially levied 25 per cent tariffs on steel, aluminium, and derivative items on 12 March.

With the fresh increase on 3 June, India informed the WTO it reserves the right to modify the products and tariff rates under its earlier notification dated 12 May.

This revised request was circulated among WTO members on Wednesday.(9 July)

India’s proposed suspension of concessions aims to counterbalance the impact of the US safeguard measures, which affect $7.6 billion worth of Indian exports, on which the duty collection would be $3.82 billion.

The equivalent duty India now seeks to impose stands at $3.82 billion—double the $1.91 billion stated in its original notification.

The retaliatory move allows India to increase tariffs on selected American products to recover the trade impact.

In 2018, the Trump administration first imposed 25 percent and 10 per cent duties on steel and aluminium, respectively, citing national security.

India retaliated in June 2019 by imposing duties on 28 US products like almonds and walnuts, and also lodged a WTO complaint.

This proposal comes at a crucial time, as both nations are engaged in Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) discussions.

An Indian delegation is expected in Washington next week to advance the talks.

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