India-US to exchange dialogue over imported aluminium and steel tariffs, today at New Delhi

India and US are going to exchange dialogue over Indian aluminium and steel imported tariffs at India-US Trade Policy Forum Meeting today April 10, 2018 at Delhi.  As reported, India is looking forward to an amicable settlement to the issue and not willing to indulge in a trade war with the US.

“The issue of raised tariffs on steel and aluminium will be discussed at length at the Indo-US Trade Policy Forum meeting on Tuesday in New Delhi, but we don’t know yet what the US expects in return if it were to withdraw the duty hike. We will approach the matter with an open mind as we do not want a trade war with the country which is an important trade partner,” said a government official.

He even said that the aluminium and steel items which have been penalised with import tariffs are largely imported from China. Moreover, India’s exports a very small percentage of the penalised aluminium and steel items. Hence, India wants the US to exempt it from the tariffs like it has been done to the European Union, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, South Korea, Canada and Mexico.

India is indeed looking forward to this Trade Policy Forum meeting with the US since their last round of talks on a possible roll-back of the import duties on aluminium and steel remained inconclusive.

However, with no clarity over the possible US’s demands in return for roll-back of the duty hike on steel and aluminium, India has worked towards reducing import duties on certain items like motorbikes for offering more market access to the US. But the Trump regime wants more.

In the period between April 2017 and February 2018, India had imported about US$23.34 billion from the US, up by 14.68 per cent that imports in the contemporary period of the previous year and exported US$43.32 billion, up by 13.34 per cent.