Indo-US Trade Deal: Steel Ministry to hold meeting tomorrow to discuss tariff issue

“We will discuss the issue in the context of proposed Indo-US trade deal and then our feedback will be sent to the government,” a senior steel ministry official told ETV Bharat while requesting anonymity.

New Delhi: Steel ministry will hold a high-level meeting on Thursday to discuss the issue of import duty imposed by the Trump administration on Indian exports last year, as the issue will be figured during US President Donald Trump’s maiden visit next week. We have called for a meeting on Thursday as the issue is important for us, said a senior official in the steel ministry.

According to highly placed sources, the government will chalk out its response if a limited trade deal is to be signed during the US leader’s India visit.

“We will discuss the issue in the context of proposed Indo-US trade deal and then our feedback will be sent to the government,” a senior steel ministry official told ETV Bharat while requesting anonymity.

Indian negotiators have been working hard to hammer out a formula so that both countries can sign a limited trade treaty during President’s Trump visit this month and a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) by the end of the year.

The proposed deal that is under discussion may cover bilateral trade worth $10 billion.

According to the official US government data, India is the 9th largest trade partner of the country with bilateral trade of $88 billion in 2018. While India exported goods and services worth $54.3 billion dollar to the US, its import from the USA stood at around $33.5 billion, leaving a trade surplus of $20 Billion in India’s favour.

President Trump has publicly accused India and China of taking advantage of developing country tag in the global trade system.

In a series of measures taken over the last two year, the US has withdrawn several liberalised rules applicable to a country like India.

In March 2018, the Trump administration imposed 25% duty on steel imported from other countries and 10% duty on aluminum. It has been levied on all countries except Mexico and Canada.

“It has affected our steel exports worth $800 million to the USA,” said a Delhi based international trade expert, adding that the export of aluminum products worth $400 million has been hit due to the imposition of duty by the US.

Indian negotiators are reportedly seeking the rollback of imposition of duty by the US government on Indian steel and aluminum. In addition to it, the government is also seeking restoration of GSP benefits that covered India’s export worth $6 billion to the US under a liberalised policy applicable on developing country.

(Article by senior journalist Krishnanand Tripathi)