India for customs duty hike on 30 US items
Raise in tariffs by New Delhi will hit US by $241 million.
New Delhi: India has now submitted a revised list of 30 items — including motorcycle, certain iron and steel goods, boric acid and lentils — to the WTO on which it proposes to raise customs duty by up to 50 per cent. As duties hiked by the US on certain steel and aluminum products would have implications of about $241 million on India, the raise in tariffs proposed by New Delhi too would have an equal implication on America.
“The US would be collecting $241 million worth of duties by hiking tariffs on certain steel and aluminum items from India, we also proposed to withdraw concessions of similar amount from these 30 products imported by India from the US,” a source said.
Earlier in May, India proposed to raise duties by up to 100 per cent on 20 products such as almonds, apple and specific motorcycles imported from the US.
The additional duty proposed to be hiked on these items ranges from 10 per cent to 100 per cent. “The revision is being provided to adjust the products and the tariff rates in accordance with India’s rights reserved vide its notification to the Council for Trade in Goods contained in the WTO document of May 18, 2018.
On March 9, US President Donald Trump imposed heavy tariffs on imported steel and aluminum items, a move that has sparked fears of a global trade war. Mr Trump signed two proclamations that levied a 25 per cent tariff on steel and a 10 per cent tariff on aluminum imported from all countries except Canada and Mexico.