‘India’s plan to impose retaliatory duty on US to figure in trade talks’

New Delhi: India’s proposal to impose retaliatory duties on select American products in response to US’ tariffs on steel and aluminum tariffs will be figured in the trade talks between the two countries starting May 17, an official said, calling it a pragmatic step.

The official said that what India has done is not something “unique or new” and it is a “pragmatic” approach which the country has taken in the WTO.

New Delhi on Monday proposed to impose these duties under the WTO norms against the US over the American tariffs. “We have reserved the right. It is to reserve the right to retaliate but we are not retaliating. We are negotiating with the US several issues, this will also be one of the issues on the trade negotiations. “We do not want to loose any of our rights which we have been given under the WTO rules,” the official added.

The official said earlier also a similar notification has been issued to the WTO by India against the European Union over EU’s steel safeguard measure of 2019 and 2021, but it has not been implemented to date.

The two countries are negotiating the bilateral trade agreement to boost two-way commerce to $500 billion by 2030 from the present $191

billion.