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Business Standard
13-06-2025
- Automotive
- Business Standard
Nifty Auto slips 2% after US President Trump warns of hiking auto tariffs
Automobile stocks plunged in Friday's (June 13, 2025) trade with 14 out of 15 stocks under pressure, at 10:45 AM. Nifty Auto also slipped 2.1 per cent in trade after US President Donal Trump on Thursday warned he may soon hike auto tariffs. At 10:50 AM, Nifty Auto was down 0.81 per cent at 23,221.6. In comparison, the NSE Nifty index was down 0.84 per cent at 24,679.55. Among others, Eicher Motors, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors, and Exide Industries fell over 1 per cent. Only, Bharat Forge shares were trading positive on the index. What did Trump say on auto tariffs? According to reports, Trump wants to boost domestic auto manufacturing, a move that could further ratchet up tensions with trading partners. The US President believes raising auto tariffs from their current 25 per cent level could offer further protection for the domestic auto industry, citing General Motors Co.'s plan to invest $4 billion in US plants over the next two years in order to avoid paying duties. In a formal communication to the WTO, the US clarified: 'The United States is not maintaining these actions pursuant to the safeguards/emergency action provisions in Article XIX of GATT 1994 and the Agreement on Safeguards. These actions are not safeguard measures, and, therefore, there is no basis to conduct consultations under the Agreement on Safeguards.' To this, the US said that India has "no basis" to seek consultations on the matter as its tariffs on automobiles and auto components do not fall under the category of safeguard measures. India noted that the tariffs, which took effect on May 3, 2025, were implemented without advance notification to the WTO's Committee on Safeguards, an action that breaches Article 12.1(c) of the WTO Safeguards Agreement, which requires prior notice before such measures are introduced. India also formally reserved the right to take retaliatory measures if its consultations with the United States fail to produce a resolution within the 30-day period mandated under WTO rules. In its submission, India stated, 'India reserves all its rights under the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organisation and its Annexes, including the Agreement on Safeguards.'
Mint
11-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
India tells WTO it won't lift wheat export ban
New Delhi: Despite a bumper wheat harvest, India has formally notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) that it will not lift restrictions on wheat exports, citing food security concerns for its own population as well as vulnerable and neighbouring countries. In a submission to the WTO's Committee on Agriculture on Tuesday. circulated on Wednesday, India said its temporary ban on wheat exports, first imposed in May 2022, remains in place due to ongoing volatility in global wheat prices and the need to ensure domestic availability. India said it has "imposed a temporary ban on wheat exports by changing the policy from 'free' to 'prohibited', in line with Article XI:2(a) of the GATT 1994 and Article 12.1 of the Agreement on Agriculture.' However, India has kept a window open for humanitarian or diplomatic exceptions, stating that wheat exports may be permitted to countries upon specific government-to-government requests to meet their food security needs. Earlier, Mint reported on 21 May that the government will not lift the ban on wheat and wheat product exports, prioritizing price stability during the upcoming festival and state election seasons. The government expects wheat production to rise 2% to a record 115.4 million tonnes (mt) in the 2024-25 rabi season, mainly on account of higher acreage. 'Wheat is a staple food for millions, and ensuring its availability at affordable prices is crucial,' the India notification stated. 'Several factors have made the global price of wheat volatile, putting the food security of India, neighbouring countries and vulnerable countries at risk,' it said. The measure, effective from 13 May 2022, was introduced in response to a combination of geopolitical tensions, climate-induced production concerns, and rising global demand that led to a sharp escalation in wheat prices globally. India is among the top producers of wheat globally but is not a major exporter. Nevertheless, the country's decision to curb outbound shipments drew criticism from some WTO members when first announced, particularly amid global shortages triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war, which disrupted supplies from the Black Sea region. In FY23, India exported 4.7 mt of wheat, valued at $1.52 billion. However, exports dropped significantly to 0.19 mt in FY24 and further to 2,749 tonnes during April-February 2024-25, according to commerce ministry data. Since the ban, only limited quantities have been allowed through diplomatic channels and on humanitarian grounds. The notification did not provide a specific end-date for the measure, only noting that it would remain until the conditions necessitating it no longer persist. Despite meeting procurement targets, the government is proceeding cautiously to avoid sparking retail food inflation, which is currently at its lowest, ahead of assembly polls. Before the ban, India exported wheat and wheat products mainly to South Asia, West Asia and Africa. Top buyers included Bangladesh, Indonesia, the UAE, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Djibouti, and Somalia. In addition, Nepal, Bhutan, and Gulf nations like Oman and Qatar were key importers of processed wheat products.
The Hindu
13-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
India warns WTO it may impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. over steel, aluminium duty hikes
At a time when India and the U.S. are in talks over a trade deal, fresh tensions have emerged as India has notified the World Trade Organisation of its proposal to impose tariffs on $7.6 billion worth of imports from the U.S. in retaliation for that country raising its import duties on steel and aluminium to 25%. According to a communication from the WTO, India's reciprocal measures could kick in 30 days from the date it sent its notification to the WTO — May 9. The WTO said it was circulating the communication 'at the request of the delegation of India'. The matter first became a point of friction during U.S. President Donald Trump's first term, when in 2018 he had first imposed higher tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. Then, in February 2025 with effect from March, at the start of his second term, he modified this by imposing tariffs of 25% on imports of steel and aluminium and removing all country-specific and product-specific exemptions that most countries had managed to obtain. While the U.S. had declined overtures from India in April for talks over the matter, saying these higher tariffs were not safeguard measures but were taken in the interest of national security, India has maintained that they are safeguard measures. 'The measures have not been notified by the United States to the WTO, but are, in essence, safeguard measures,' India asserted in its communication to the WTO. 'India maintains that the measures taken by the United States are not consistent with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994) and Agreement on Safeguards (AoS).' Further, it said that since the U.S. did not hold mandatory consultations under Article 12.3 of the AoS, India had the right to retaliate. It added that 'India reserves the right to suspend concessions or other obligations… that are substantially equivalent to the adverse effects of the measure to India's trade'. India further said that its proposed measures would be in the form of a suspension of concessions or other obligations on selected products originating in the U.S., which would in effect result in an increase in tariffs on these items. 'India reserves its right to suspend concessions or other obligations after the expiration of thirty days from the date of this notification (May 9, 2025),' it added. The communication further said that the U.S.' measures would affect $7.6 billion worth of imports into the United States from India, on which the duty collection would be $1.91 billion. 'Accordingly, India's proposed suspension of concessions would result in an equivalent amount of duty collected from products originating in the United States,' it added. India said it would inform both the Council for Trade in Goods and Committee on Safeguards of the WTO on 'the next appropriate steps'. If India does go ahead with its retaliatory measures, it would not be the first time. In June 2019, India imposed higher tariffs on 28 products from the U.S. after the U.S. removed India from its Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) and refused to discontinue its 2018 steel and aluminium tariffs. The duties — covering $240 million in trade value — were withdrawn in September 2023, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to Washington.
