India informs WTO of tariff plan to counter US duties on steel

New Delhi: India has informed the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that it proposes to impose retaliatory tariffs on select American goods, to counter the duties on Indian steel and aluminium exports levied by the US as safeguard duties.

According to a WTO communication, these US safeguard measures would impact $7.6 billion worth of imports of Indian products, with an estimated duty collection of $1.91 billion.

In April, India requested consultations with the US under the WTO’s safeguard agreement when the decision to levy the tariffs was announced.

The US stance at the WTO was that the tariffs on Indian goods were imposed on national security grounds and should not be regarded as safeguard measures.

India, in its notification to the WTO, announced its intent to suspend concessions and other obligations in response to the US safeguard measures on steel, aluminium, and related products, as outlined in a Presidential Proclamation dated February 10, 2025, with the measures set to take effect on March 12.

The WTO communication, dated May 9, 2025, was circulated at India’s request. It noted that although the US has not formally notified these measures to the WTO, they are effectively considered safeguard measures.

“India maintains that the measures taken by the US are not consistent with the General Agreement on Trade and Tariff (GATT) 1994 and Agreement on safeguards (AoS),” it said, adding that as consultations provided for under a provision of the AoS have not taken place, India reserves the right to suspend concessions or other obligations that are substantially equivalent to the adverse effects of the measure to India’s trade,” India’s notification said.

Without prejudice to the effective exercise of its right to suspend substantially equivalent obligations, India reserves its right to suspend concessions after the expiration of 30 days from the date of this notification, it further said.

While the proposed duties are still at the WTO notification stage, India is also close to finalising a new bilateral trade agreement with the Trump administration.

IANS