The United States and India have resolved six bilateral trade disputes at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), lifting tariff barriers on both sides in the process, White House Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced in a statement on Thursday.
The agreement, which comes on the occasion of a state visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s to Washington, concerns Indian steel and aluminium, US agricultural products and components needed to produce renewable energy, among other things.
It culminates the intensification of relations between the two countries over the past two years, aimed at strengthening their economic and trade ties, White House Trade Representative Katherine Tai was reported as saying in the statement.
Under the pact, India has agreed to lift tariffs taken in retaliation against some 30 US goods, including agricultural products such as apples and various nuts.
“These tariff cuts will reopen trade opportunities for US producers while maintaining the provisions of Section 232,” the US trade representative’s statement said.
Section 232 is a statutory provision allowing the US Department of Trade to investigate foreign production of certain types of products to determine whether it has an impact on national security.
It also allows for the implementation of import restrictions as well as tariffs aimed at reducing a country’s competitive advantage if the US believes it is the result of a distortion of competition.
Steel and aluminium produced in India are covered by Section 232, which was one of the grounds for the disputes between the two countries and led to the retaliatory measures against several categories of US products, sparking further disputes.
In fact, in 2018, then President Donald Trump decided to impose additional tariffs of 25% on Indian steel and 10% on aluminium. India responded by raising tariffs on 28 US products.
Last December, the WTO ruled that the US tariffs contravened existing trade rules, a decision that was criticised by Washington.
