India wants to impose retaliatory tariffs on the US over tariffs imposed by the US on cars and spare parts from this republic, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said in a statement.
On March 26, the US decided to increase the tariff on imports of passenger cars and light trucks, as well as some spare parts from India, by 25%. These measures will apply from May 3 and are valid indefinitely. India claims that these actions violate WTO rules.
Since consultations requested by New Delhi on these tariffs have not taken place, “India reserves the right to suspend concessions or other commitments”, the WTO said. The safeguard measures will affect annual imports of goods from India worth $2,895 million, on which imports from the United States will be subject to a duty of $723.75 million. “Accordingly, the suspension of concessions proposed by India will result in the collection of an equivalent amount of duties on US goods”, the statement said.
India and the United States are actively negotiating an interim trade agreement to strengthen trade ties. US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the US and India could reach an agreement on bilateral trade terms within a week. He said it would be a deal that would allow the US to enter the Indian market. He noted that India currently "doesn't let anyone in", but "if they do this with the US, they will have a deal that will have much lower tariffs on Indian goods and services coming into the US".
On April 2, the US leader announced the introduction of tariffs on products from 185 countries and territories. The universal tariffs of 10% took effect on April 5, individual tariffs on April 9. For India, the tariffs were 26%. On April 9, Trump announced that he was suspending tariff increases for 90 days for 75 countries that had indicated a willingness to negotiate; they will be subject to import tariffs of 10%. The American leader said he was open to discussing the size of the tariffs with trading partners.