According to government sources, India will eliminate further levies on eight US items, including chickpeas, lentils, and apples, that were imposed in 2019 in retaliation for an American decision to raise tariffs on some steel and aluminium products.
Both nations reached agreements to resolve six WTO (World Trade Organisation) issues and remove these retaliatory tariffs on certain US goods during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent official visit to the US.
On the basis of national security in 2018, the US levied import duties of 25% on steel products and 10% on some aluminium items. In retaliation, India added customs fees to 28 American items in June 2019.
After India notifies the revocation of additional charges, the duties on these eight US-origin products would return to the most-favorable-nation (MFN) rate, according to one of the sources who is aware of the development. The tariffs would, however, expire after 90 days.
According to the sources, India will be removing additional duties on chickpeas (10%), lentils (20%), almonds (fresh or dried; Rs. 7/kg); almonds (shelled; Rs. 20/kg); walnuts (20%), apples (fresh); boric acid (20%), and diagnostic regents (20%) as part of the agreement.
In response to the US decision to raise tariffs on some steel and aluminium products, the duties were raised on 28 US items in 2019. The announcement of an agreement with India to abolish these levies has been warmly received by US politicians and business leaders.
However, India's top trading partner is the United States. The bilateral trade in products climbed to USD 128.8 billion in 2022–2023 from USD 119.5 billion the previous year according to
India Trade Data.
