Response To Trump’s Tariff  Wars: India Preps US Goods List For Retaliatory Tariffs Worth $240 Million

The union government has decided to introduce retaliatory tariffs on about 30 items imported from the United States, in response to the Donald Trump administration’s unilateral move to hike duties on Indian aluminum and steel, reports Mint.

The 30-something list will be sent to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) next week. The Indian list is likely to include almonds, apples, phosphoric acid and motorcycles with engine capacity more than 800 cc (including Harley-Davidson Inc.). The total impact on the US as a result of these tariffs is pegged at $240 million.

Earlier, India had asked the US to provide an exemption from its 25 per cent levy on steel and 10 per cent on aluminium imposed by President Trump on grounds of ‘national security’. However, the US rejected the request. Subsequently, India dragged the US to the dispute settlement mechanism in the WTO over the matter.

When a commerce ministry official was asked whether this was only posturing by India, the official, on the condition of anonymity, said that when the US could do its own thing, why should India sit quiet. “We will do what we have to do, but when talks happen, we will use it as a bargaining chip,” the official said.

Suresh Prabhu, commerce minister, said on Friday (17 June) after a two-day US visit that the talks he had with the US administration were conducted in a positive atmosphere and that officials from both sides would soon sit down and resolve all pending disputes.

Trump has often been vocal about the issue of higher tariffs imposed by India on Harley-Davidson motorcycles and in return has threatened to slap ‘reciprocal taxes’ on Indian bikes exported to the US. However, he seemed to have been misinformed about about Indian bikes ‘selling in thousands’ in the US.