India Ready to Impose Higher Tariffs on Over 20 US Goods

By Staff, Agencies

In late-May, the Trump administration announced that it would strip India of its special trade status that exempts the Asian country from billions of dollars' worth of tariffs on imports into the US.

Reuters reported Friday that India was preparing to impose higher tariffs on some US goods including almonds, walnuts and apples next week following Washington's withdrawal of New Delhi's key trade privileges.

"What India is doing is legal and the tariffs on US goods will only lead to an impact of around $220 million," a source close to the matter said.

India was the largest beneficiary of the Generalised System of Preferences [GSP] program in 2017 with $5.7 billion in imports to the US given duty-free status. India's top exports to the US under the GSP in 2017 included motor vehicle parts, ferroalloys, precious metal jewelry, building stone, insulated cables, leather products, garment [marginal] and wires.

President Trump has repeatedly pressured New Delhi to open its markets to US trade to close the deficit, which is around $27.3 billion, and has protested the country's protectionist tariff policies, including recently re-elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make In India' project.