India to push for exemption from US tariff hikes

India is considering all avenues ahead of the two-day US-India trade talks on the tariff hikes imposed on steel and aluminium.

According to a Mint report, India is ready to join hands with other countries to make its case in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) if the superpower does not lift the trade impositions.

Sources told Mint that close to USD 300-400 million will be affected by the tariff imposition.

According to calculations by US-based Peterson Institute for International Economics, India can retaliate with USD 300 million worth of tariffs, while China and Japan can impose close to USD 700 million worth of tariffs on the United States.

The US states that the trade exports have been implemented as a security measure. India’s commerce secretary Rita Teaotia said since India does not prove to be a security threat to the US, it should be exempted from the list of nations that are going to face higher tariffs.

Currently, the countries that have been granted exemptions from the hike include key countries in the European Union, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and South Korea.

India has access to export subsidies by the WTO, which the US challenged on March 14.

Trade minister Suresh Prabhu said India should not lose out on its export subsidies just because it was growing at a faster rate, and must be provided with the same opportunities as other countries to phase out its subsidies in eight years.