No pre-emptive tariff cuts on US imports; New Delhi prepares for talks with Trump administration
livemint.com
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: The Indian government is preparing a new blueprint to address key issues in imports of American apples, oil, electric vehicles, satellite communications, among others, as it gears up for trade talks with the US. These discussions aim to strengthen ties with the world’s most powerful country, now guided by the 'America First' policy espoused by its new president Donald Trump.
Three officials aware of discussions in the central government said on condition of anonymity that while India will make no unilateral offer of trade and tariff concessions, it will engage with Washington to ease market access to US products in the country. India will also seek assurances that the US will not raise taxes or impose additional trade barriers against Indian products, these officials said. “While the Indian government is preparing for talks with the new US administration, there are no plans to lay the red carpet on the tariff front," one of the officials cited above said.
Last time Trump was US president, he had labelled India a “tariff king" in July 2019, pointing to the 100% duty on imports of Harley-Davidson motorcycles in particular. Although India cut that down to 50% soon after, Trump still called it “unacceptable". Earlier, in March 2018, after the US imposed tariffs on Indian steel and aluminium, India countered by raising tariffs on 29 American products.
Read more on livemint.com
