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BCN-15
INDIA-US-TRADE-DIPLOMACY-ECONOMY
From apples to almonds, India hikes tariffs on US goods
NEW DELHI, June 16, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – India on Sunday imposed higher
tariffs on 28 items imported from the US, in retaliation to Washington’s
recent withdrawal of trade privileges for New Delhi.
The increased duties apply to products including almonds, apples and
walnuts, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs said.
India would “implement the imposition of retaliatory duties on 28
specified goods originating in or exported from (the) USA”, it said in a
notification.
The list initially included 29 goods but artemia, a kind of shrimp, has
been removed from the list.
India is the number two market of California almonds and Washington
apples.
The trade tensions come despite efforts from Washington to boost ties with
India as a counterweight to China, and assertions made by both US President
Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about their good
relationship.
The stage for the row was set last year after Washington refused to exempt
India from higher steel and aluminium tariffs, in keeping with Trump’s
decision to act against countries with which it has a large trade deficit.
India responded by saying it would raise import taxes on a slew of US
goods.
But it delayed raising tariffs several times, hoping for negotiation to
tackle the sticky trade issue.
However Trump’s decision this month to strip New Delhi of its preferential
trade status appears to have prompted the latest Indian move.
According to the new tariffs, import duty on walnut has been hiked to 120
percent from 30 percent and on chickpeas and lentils it has been raised to 70
percent from 30 percent currently.
The trade row is likely to be taken up when Trump and Modi meet at the G20
summit on June 28-29 in Osaka.
It is also likely to figure during talks with US Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo who is set to visit India later this month.
US goods and services trade with India stood at an estimated $142.1
billion in 2018. The US trade deficit with India was $24.2 billion, according
to official data.
Washington is already engaged in a full-blown trade war with India’s
regional rival China.
BSS/AFP/HR/1320