The Trump administration is dealing with India differently by exempting it from tariffs on its steel and aluminium goods, with some conditions applied.
New Delhi: India again deferred the imposition of retaliatory tariffs on some US imports, signaling its readiness to find a solution to avert a trade war in contrast to the path China has taken.
The tariff plan has been deferred to 2 Nov, according to a notification from the finance ministry. New Delhi had previously planned to levy higher tariffs effective 4 Aug, but they were delayed until 18 Sept as the two sides held meetings to avoid a full-blown trade war.
The move comes even as China announced it will retaliate against the US’s plan to impose a 10 per cent tariff on about $200 billion in Chinese goods next week. That’s a stark contrast to how the Trump administration is dealing with India: the US is willing to exempt Indian steel and aluminum from tariffs with some conditions, local media reported Tuesday.
India’s original tariff plan would have included walnuts, almonds, boric acid, apples, diagnostic reagents and some hot-rolled coil products from the US in response to Trump’s 25 per cent and 10 per cent duties on steel and aluminum, respectively.
India exported a total 9.6 million tons of finished steel in the year ended March 2018, according to government data. Exports of the commodity during April-July slumped 33.5 per cent from a year ago to 1.87 million tons, while imports have risen 6 per cent to 2.66 million tons, according to provisional data from the steel ministry. –Bloomberg