India has increased tariffs on U.S. exports by up to 70%, striking another blow to global trade. The tariffs, announced on Saturday by India’s Finance Ministry, went into effect on Sunday, June 16 and affect $240 million worth of American products.
The 28 targeted goods originating in or exported from the U.S include agricultural products, such as apples, almonds, walnuts, and lentils; chemicals, such as phosphoric acid, boric acid, and domestic reagents; and iron and steel products, including flat rolled products of stainless steel, other alloy steel, tube and pipe fittings, screws, bolts, and rivets. The list originally included 29 goods, but the government removed artemia, a kind of shrimp, from the list.
“It is necessary in the public interest” to impose the new tariffs in retaliation for tariffs imposed last year by the U.S. on steel and aluminum, the Indian government said in Saturday’s statement.
India originally issued an order last year to raise import duties as high as 120% on American goods, but delayed imposing them while the two countries engaged in trade talks. The relationship recently soured after the Trump Administration ended India’s participation in the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, which exempts developing countries from Section 201 safeguard tariffs. Under GSP, more than $6 billion worth of Indian goods were exempted from U.S. import duties in 2018, making India the biggest beneficiary of the program.
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Sources
- The Hindu Business Line, India imposes higher customs duties on 28 US products
- CNN Business, India is hitting the United States with more tariffs
- USA Today, India imposing increased, retaliatory tariffs on US exports including apples, almonds
- Bloomberg, India Increases Tariffs on U.S. Goods as Trade War Heats Up
