Authorities ought to convey to the U.S. that Indian tariffs are WTO-compliant, says suppose tank GTRI

GTRI stated that India’s finest choices to take care of the U.S.’s menace to impose excessive duties embrace providing zero tariffs on most industrial items to the U.S., or absorbing new U.S. tariffs with out retaliation
| Photograph Credit score: Reuters

India’s import duties are in compliance with international commerce guidelines and the federal government ought to convey this to the U.S. administration, World Commerce Analysis Initiative (GTRI), an financial suppose tank, stated on Sunday (March 2, 2025).

It additionally stated that negotiating a complete Free Commerce Settlement (FTA) with the U.S. presents a number of challenges.

The U.S. might push India to open authorities procurement to American corporations, scale back agricultural subsidies, weaken patent protections by permitting evergreening, and take away restrictions on knowledge flows, it stated, including India had resisted these calls for for many years and was nonetheless not ready to just accept them.

U.S. President Donald Trump on a number of events has alleged that India had excessive tariffs and termed it “tariff king” and “tariff abuser”.

Tariffs are import duties imposed and picked up by the federal government and paid by firms to convey overseas items into the nation.

“India’s tariffs are in line with WTO (World Commerce Group) guidelines. They’re the results of a single endeavor on the WTO which all international locations, together with the U.S., accepted in 1995…Indian tariffs are WTO compliant. The Indian facet wants to clarify [this] to the U.S.,” GTRI founder Ajay Srivastava stated.

The 166-member discussion board is the one worldwide physique that offers with the principles of commerce between nations.

When the WTO was established in 1995, developed nations agreed to let growing international locations retain larger tariffs in change for commitments on Commerce-Associated Features of Mental Property Rights (TRIPS), companies commerce liberalisation, and agricultural guidelines that primarily favoured wealthier nations.

Mr. Srivastava stated many growing nations argue that the commitments made underneath TRIPS and agriculture had disproportionately benefited developed international locations, limiting their capability to industrialise.

“[U.S. President] Trump, whereas speaking about India’s excessive tariffs, conveniently forgets this,” he added.

He additionally stated that India’s exports to America usually have low native worth addition and this have to be thought-about when assessing commerce balances between the 2 international locations.

The sectors the place native worth addition in exported items are low embrace iPhones, photo voltaic panels, diamonds, and petrochemicals, he stated.

The GTRI additional stated that India’s finest choices to take care of the U.S.’s menace to impose excessive duties embrace providing zero tariffs on most industrial items to the U.S., or absorbing new U.S. tariffs with out retaliation “very like Shiva consumed poison with out swallowing it”.

“FTA negotiations will take time, and by the point an settlement is reached, Trump might have already imposed reciprocal tariffs, making the deal ineffective. On account of those causes, this feature is the worst choice, [and is] not advisable,” the GTRI stated.