India has proposed retaliatory tariffs on Friday against the United States at the WTO (World Trade Organisation) in response to American safeguard measures on the automobile sector. The move comes amidst ongoing trade deal talks with the Donald Trump administration.“The proposed suspension of concessions or other obligations would take the form of an increase in tariffs on selected products originating in the United States,” states a WTO notification circulated at India’s request.According to a PTI report, India has informed the WTO’s Council for Trade in Goods regarding its intended suspension of concessions and other obligations under specific WTO provisions.
India-US WTO Issues
On March 26 this year, the United States implemented a safeguard measure, imposing a 25 per cent ad valorem tariff increase on imports of passenger vehicles, light trucks, and specific automobile parts from India.Starting from May 3, 2025, these regulations were implemented for automobile components and will continue indefinitely.Also Read | India-US trade deal: What’s the deadlock about? Top issues blocking agreement as Donald Trump’s 26% tariff deadline looms“This notification is made in connection with safeguard measures extended by the United States of America on imports of automobile parts from India,” the WTO document indicated.The United States has not registered these regulations with the WTO, although they fundamentally constitute safeguard measures.India’s position maintains that the United States’ actions do not align with GATT (General Agreement on Trade and Tariff) 1994 and the Safeguards Agreement.Since the United States has not responded to India’s request for consultations regarding these tariffs, India has stated it “reserves the right to suspend concessions or other obligations”.The safeguard measures would impact annual imports worth $2,895 million into the United States from India, resulting in duty collections of $723.75 million.“Accordingly, India’s proposed suspension of concessions would result in an equivalent amount of duty collected from products originating in the United States,” according to the statement.In March, India implemented comparable measures in response to American tariffs on steel and aluminium.
