India decides to impose additional customs duties on 29 US goods with effect from June 16

According to the recent report, India has finally decided to impose additional customs duties on 29 US products including almond, walnut, and pulses, after delaying it for several times since June 2018. As per the report, the duties will come into effect on June 16, as the extension of the duties will expire on the said date.  

To recall, these import duties on the United States were decided as a retaliatory move when the Trump administration had declared to levy 25 per cent additional tariff on steel and 10 per cent on aluminium in March 2018. Since then, India had been trying to negotiate which led to the US cutting the tariff on aluminium imports. But now, with the United States’ decision to withdraw India’s GSP status and trade negotiations failing to reach a conclusion, India has finally decided to impose higher customs duties on US goods.

The calculation shows that India will likely generate around $217 million of additional revenue from customs duties on US goods.

India exports steel and aluminium to the US worth around $1.5 billion every year. In 2017-2018, India’s exports to the US stood at $47.9 billion, while imports were at $26.7 billion. So, the trade balance is in favour of India.

External affairs minister S. Jaishankar said the US secretary of state Mike Pompeo is scheduled to visit New Delhi on 25-26 June to hold bilateral discussions with his Indian counterpart.

Pompeo said, “We remain open to dialogue, and hope that our friends in India will drop their trade barriers and trust in the competitiveness of their own companies, their own businesses, their own people, and private sector companies."

Last week, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said India has gracefully accepted the United States decision to withdraw GSP benefits and will now work towards making the exports competitive.