India has decided to take strong action against the United States at the World Trade Organization (WTO) by proposing retaliatory duties. This is in response to high tariffs placed by the US on Indian steel and aluminium exports.
According to WTO documents, India said that the US safeguard measures have affected Indian exports worth $7.6 billion. The estimated duty collection by the US from these tariffs is around $1.91 billion. India believes these duties are unfair and wants to suspend some trade benefits that it offers to the US under WTO agreements.
The U.S. tariffs invited initial imposition on March 23, 2018, at a 25 percent for steel and 10 percent for aluminium. These tariffs have been renewed in January 2020 also, along with February this year. The recent extension applicable from March 12, 2025, maintains the 25 percent duty on Indian steel.
India had requested a consultation with America in April 2025 under the WTO’s safeguard agreement. But in response to this, America declared that these tariffs are not safeguard duties but are on the basis of national security, which are beyond the normal rules of the WTO.
India, on the contrary, strongly opposes this move and formally notified WTO on May 9 that India would suspend some trade privileges for American goods. This implies that India may soon impose additional tariffs on American goods to level the losses incurred due to the tariffs on steel and aluminium.
The trade matter would have implications for Indian metal and engineering firms selling to the American market and also for the Indian market itself should the tensions persist.
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Source: Moneycontrol.
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