Latest news with #WTO-compliant
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Business Standard
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Business Standard
US rejects India's WTO claim on auto tariffs, cites security grounds
The United States has insisted that the Trump administration's tariffs on auto and auto parts were enacted on national security grounds and are not subject to retaliatory action. The comments come in response to India's claim that its automobile-related tariffs fall under 'safeguard measures' as defined by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The communication was made in response to India's WTO notification signalling its intent to impose retaliatory duties on select US goods. India has claimed that the 25 per cent tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on automobile imports meet the definition of safeguards under WTO rules—temporary protections allowed to shield domestic industries from import surges. US says safeguard rules don't apply In a formal communication dated July 17, the US reiterated its stance that the 25 per cent tariffs on autos and auto parts, imposed under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, are rooted in domestic security concerns rather than protectionist motives. Concluding that the measure, therefore, does not fall within the scope of the WTO's Agreement on Safeguards. 'These actions are… not safeguard measures,' the US said in the submission. 'Accordingly, there is no basis for India's proposal to suspend concessions or other obligations under the Agreement on Safeguards with respect to these measures.' The US, however, has said it will not engage in discussions on the matter under the Safeguards Agreement framework and further accused New Delhi of failing to meet procedural obligations under that agreement, including consultation requirements. Washington also accused India of failing to fulfil required procedural steps under the agreement, including prior consultations. It said it would not entertain discussions on the issue under the safeguards framework. India calls move is procedural, WTO-compliant Indian officials dismissed the criticism, stating that the filing was procedural and consistent with existing WTO rules. While New Delhi has not specified which US imports might face higher duties, the notice is seen as strategic signalling amid ongoing bilateral trade negotiations. 'This doesn't impact our current negotiations,' said an Indian official, referring to the fifth round of US-India trade talks underway in Washington. India challenges steel, aluminium tariff This is not India's first attempt to challenge Section 232 tariffs. Earlier this month, it revised a similar notification in response to the US raising steel and aluminium duties to 50 per cent. In 2019, India imposed retaliatory tariffs on 28 US goods, including almonds, apples, and chemicals, after earlier rounds of Section 232 duties. While the WTO allows retaliatory actions in response to safeguard measures, the distinction becomes murkier when tariffs are imposed on national security grounds — a justification that has become increasingly common in global trade disputes. Legal experts say the WTO has yet to clearly define the boundaries of such claims, leaving countries to interpret the rules through their own lenses. Trump tariffs and policies Trade relations with the US have entered into chaos since Donald Trump returned to office and began imposing tariffs on a long list of trading partners. In April, the White House introduced a universal 10 per cent baseline tariff on most imports, with 'reciprocal' tariffs of up to 70 per cent targeting specific countries. Trump then imposed a 90-day pause, set to lapse on July 9, as markets started to crash. While some countries were granted extensions until August 1 to conclude trade deals, India has yet to reach an agreement. Negotiations remain ongoing, despite earlier expectations that New Delhi would be among the first to finalise a bilateral deal under Trump's renewed trade agenda.
Indian Express
10-07-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
India gears up for WTO trade policy review as EU chief calls for an alternative to the World Trade Organization
At a time when multilateralism is taking a back seat — with an ineffective UN Security Council and a dysfunctional dispute settlement body at the World Trade Organization (WTO) — India appears committed to key WTO processes and has begun preparations for its eighth trade policy review after five years. The preparations in the Ministry of Commerce come at a time when the US has all but abandoned the forum for resolving trade disputes and is instead striking bilateral trade deals, which experts fear are often not WTO-compliant. This poses significant risk for the rules-based system and for developing countries such as India, experts have warned. While the US continues to block the appointment of judges to the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), the European Union has called for wide-ranging reforms. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week proposed to EU leaders the launch of a Europe-led initiative to establish structured trade cooperation with Asian countries — potentially pitching for an alternative to the WTO. The Financial Times reported earlier this week that von der Leyen suggested Brussels team up with the 11 other global economies of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) to form an institution to replace the WTO, which is struggling to contain global trade tensions. 'Asian countries want to have structured cooperation with the EU, and the EU wants the same,' von der Leyen said. 'We can think about this as the beginning of redesigning the WTO… to show the world that free trade with a large number of countries is possible on a rules-based foundation.' This is of particular importance for India, since New Delhi has been filing several disputes against the US even while negotiating a bilateral trade agreement. On Thursday, India revised its proposal to impose retaliatory duties under WTO norms against the US over American tariffs on steel and aluminium, in view of the Trump administration's further hike in duties. The US first imposed 25 per cent tariffs on imports of aluminium, steel, and derivative articles on March 12. On June 3, these tariffs were further raised to 50 per cent. 'Without prejudice to its earlier notification to the Council for Trade in Goods and the Committee on Safeguards dated May 12, India reserves its right to adjust the products and tariff rates. This request is made in response to the increase in the tariff rate by the US from 25 per cent ad valorem to 50 per cent,' the WTO said in a communication on Wednesday. The communication was circulated among WTO members at India's request. It stated that the proposed suspension of concessions or other obligations could take the form of increased tariffs on selected products originating in the US. 'The safeguard measures would affect $7.6 billion worth of imports into the United States of the relevant products originating in India, on which the duty collection would be $3.82 billion,' it said. Accordingly, India's proposed suspension of concessions would result in an equivalent amount of duty collected on products originating in the US. In the May 12 communication, the projected duty collection was stated as $1.91 billion. Ravi Dutta Mishra is a Principal Correspondent with The Indian Express, covering policy issues related to trade, commerce, and banking. He has over five years of experience and has previously worked with Mint, CNBC-TV18, and other news outlets. ... Read More
Fibre2Fashion
27-05-2025
- Business
- Fibre2Fashion
India to restore RoDTEP benefits for AA, EOU & SEZ exports from June 1
Government of India has reinstated Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme benefits for Advance Authorisation (AA) holders, Export-Oriented Units (EOUs), and Special Economic Zone (SEZ) units. Applicable from June 1, 2025, the move aims to strengthen India's export competitiveness and ensure parity across all exporter categories. These benefits had earlier lapsed on February 5, 2025. Their restoration signals the government's ongoing commitment to boosting merchandise exports by offsetting unrefunded embedded duties and taxes. Since its launch on January 1, 2021, the WTO-compliant scheme has disbursed over ₹57,976.78 crore (~$6.8 billion), the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said in a press release. Indian government has reinstated RoDTEP benefits for AA holders, EOUs and SEZ units from June 1. The move aims to enhance export competitiveness and ensure parity across exporter categories. Earlier withdrawn in February 2025, the scheme has disbursed over ₹57,976.78 crore (~$6.8 billion) since 2021. For FY26, ₹18,233 crore is allocated to support a wide range of HS lines via a digital platform. For FY26, ₹18,233 crore has been earmarked to support exports under 10,780 HS lines for Domestic Tariff Area and 10,795 HS lines for AA/EOU/SEZ segments. The scheme is operated through a fully digital platform to ensure transparency and ease of access for exporters. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)
New Indian Express
27-05-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Govt reinstate duty remission scheme for SEZs
Operational since 1st January 2021, the RoDTEP scheme is designed to reimburse exporters for embedded duties, taxes, and levies that are not otherwise refunded under any other existing scheme. The scheme intends to compensate all central, state and local taxes levied on the exported products. RoDTEP is compliant with World Trade Organization (WTO) norms and is implemented via a comprehensive end-to-end digital platform to ensure transparency and efficiency. The commerce ministry informed that total disbursements under the RoDTEP scheme have crossed Rs. 57,976.78 crore as of 31 March 2025, underscoring its significant role in supporting India's merchandise exports. For 2025–26, the Government has allocated Rs. 18,233 crore under the scheme. 'The reinstatement of RoDTEP benefits for special export categories reflects the government's continued commitment to creating a conducive, competitive, and compliant export ecosystem that drives India's long-term trade growth,' says the commerce ministry. However, Ajay Srivastava, founder, Global Trust Research Initiative (GTRI), the government's stop-and-start approach to RoDTEP undermines the scheme's purpose. 'Although RoDTEP is a WTO-compliant way to refund embedded duties paid by exporters, its repeated withdrawal for AA holders, EOUs, and SEZs creates serious uncertainty. Exporters struggle to price products or plan long-term deals when they cannot rely on steady refunds,' he says.
Mint
23-04-2025
- Business
- Mint
Trade aggression: India's steel shield mustn't turn into a slippery slope
Fears of surplus production overseas being dumped in India, especially by Chinese manufacturers, have spiked amid the ongoing tariff war. On Monday, India's ministry of finance notified a safeguard duty of 12% for 200 days on five categories of steel imports if sold below specified dollar prices. These include hot rolled coils, sheets and plates; hot rolled plate mill plates; cold rolled coils and sheets; metallic coated steel coils and sheets; and colour coated coils and sheets. This follows the preliminary findings of a probe by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), which had noted a 'recent, sudden, sharp and significant increase in imports" of these goods, putting domestic producers at the threat of 'serious injury." Government data shows that our steel imports rose to 9.5 million tonnes in 2024-25 from 8.3 million tonnes the previous year. Shipments from South Korea, Japan and other countries have been under the DGTR scanner, but particularly imports from China, whose economic slowdown has led to a steel glut. As dumping is an unfair trade practice that hurts local businesses, anti-dumping levies are allowed under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, so long as they're proportionate, temporary and based on evidence. Even without WTO caveats, this device must always be used judiciously. After all, if duties are raised on industrial inputs, user industries could suffer higher costs; if levied on finished goods, consumers may end up paying more. As there is often a thin line between safeguard duties and outright protectionism, all stakeholders within the country and abroad should have clarity on the rationale employed. In the case of steel products, the Centre's notice refers to a DGTR report of 18 March that lays out trends on excess capacity overseas and a surge in our import volumes, along with indexed data on how prices were undercut. To establish injury, it shows how indexed local profits and employment took big hits. It has other supportive numbers too. In fact, the 93-page document seems overloaded with tabulations. Ideally, in such cases, the government should also offer an executive summary to explain why the action was taken. This would keep the scope for doubt minimal. Price information is key. A sudden drop in import prices is a telltale sign of wares being dumped. Deep-discount sales can also be inferred from a comparison of prices charged by producers in their home markets and here. Clinching evidence that satisfies the textbook definition of below-cost dumping would require the actual production costs of foreign exporters, but these are difficult to obtain and Chinese data would be clouded by subsidies doled out by the state—a reason it's blamed for warping fair trade. The shield erected in defence of Indian steelmakers not only appears WTO-compliant, it is in line with actions taken by many other nations. A clearer enunciation of its logic, however, would deter dubious demands from sundry other industries that may want to be shielded from global competition. While business lobbies can hardly be blamed for trying, safeguard duties levied on flimsy grounds would push up costs all around. Several quality control orders issued by the Centre are already suspected of acting as non-tariff barriers. New hurdles raised across the economy for imports would leave us with a higher cost base, which would deal a blow to our global competitiveness. All said, we must take care that a shield for steel doesn't turn into a slippery slope.
