India announces retaliatory trade tariffs against the US

Indian Finance Ministry has said that, from Sunday June 16, it will impose tariffs on 28 US products, including almonds, apples, lentils and several chemical products.

In response to Washington’s refusal to exempt Delhi from higher taxes on steel and aluminium imports, the new duties will go as high as 70%.

The Indian government did not specify the value of the goods targeted in its statement, but previously told the World Trade Organization that they were worth around $241 million.

India had last year in June announced tariffs of up to 120%, but trade talks had delayed their implementation.

Trump has repeatedly slammed India’s tariffs on products like motorcycles and whiskey, and his decision to revoke trade privileges for India followed complaints from American dairy farmers and medical device manufacturers that tariffs imposed by New Delhi were hurting their exports.

Last month, Trump administration had increased tariffs to 25% from 10% on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, and it’s currently threatening to target another $300 billion of exports from the world’s second largest economy.

US-India bilateral trade was worth $142bn (£111bn) in 2018, a sevenfold increase since 2001, according to US figures.

From June 5, Trump scrapped trade privileges under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) for India, the biggest beneficiary of a scheme that allowed duty-free exports of up to $5.6 billion.

But the only Indian exports — previously duty-free in the US — will be hit now the country has lost preferential treatment under America’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).