Amidst Rising Trade Tensions, India To Slap Retaliatory Tariffs On 29 US Products 

After the failure of trade negotiations with the United States, the Indian government has decided to go ahead with imposing additional customs duties on 29 American products starting from 16 June, reports PTI.

A notification regarding the same is soon expected to be released publicly. Some of the US exports to India which would be affected are almonds, walnuts and pulses. Up to an extra amount of $217 million may be generated by the new duties.

The trade tensions between the two countries stem from the US decision last year (2018) to introduce a 25 per cent tariff on steel imports and slap a 10 per cent import duty on aluminium goods entering the country. This move had a major impact on Indian producers of the said products.

Attempts at negotiations between the two sides ground to a complete halt once the Trump Administration decided to end benefits to Indian exporters under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) from 5 June, impacting approximately $5.5 billion worth of Indian exports to the US.

Under President Donald Trump, the US is already involved in a high-stakes trade war with China, with the latter being accused of unscrupulously policies intended to flood the American market with cheap products made by stealing US technology.