India has submitted a letter to the WTO that if Washington does not reduce the high tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, India will impose tariffs of up to 100% on 20 products imported from the United States from next month. Specifically include American almonds, apples, and specific motorcycles.
The additional tax for these items to be added varies from 5% to 100%.
According to India’s letter to the WTO, India hereby informs the Board of Governors that it has decided to suspend the concession or other obligations...substantially equivalent to the volume of trade affected by the measures implemented by the United States.
It is reported that the proposal to suspend the concession will take the form of "increased tariffs on certain products originating from the United States". In addition, India reserves the right to further suspend basic equivalent concessions and other obligations in accordance with U.S. measures.
Earlier, India urged the United States to waive the decision to increase import duties on certain steel and aluminum products. The country made this move in accordance with the WTO Safeguards Agreement.
On 9 March, President Trump imposed high tariffs on imported steel and aluminum products, which triggered concerns about the global trade war. Trump has signed two statements that impose tariffs of 25% and 10% on imports of steel and aluminum from all countries except Canada and Mexico.
The letter also revealed that "If the United States decides to continue implementing these measures, the suspension of the franchise will take effect before June 21, 2018. Until the safeguards in the United States are lifted, the suspension of the franchise will continue to apply."
India also stated that the United States implements explicit safeguards without giving any of the affected members any opportunity for negotiation.
The country stated that the US imposed taxation has already affected the export of steel from India by 133.4 million U.S. dollars, while the impact on exports of aluminum is 31.16 million U.S. dollars.However, the United States has stated that the increase in taxes by the Trump administration is not a safeguard measure.
India also dragged the United States into the dispute settlement mechanism of the World Trade Organization on import duties levied on steel and aluminum. India stated that this decision will affect the export of these products to the United States and does not comply with global trade regulations.
India exports approximately 1.5 billion U.S. dollars worth of steel and aluminum products to the United States each year. India's exports to the United States in the 2016-17 fiscal year amounted to 42.1 billion U.S. dollars and the value of imports was 22.3 billion U.S. dollars.