Republican presidential nominee and previous U.S. President Donald Trump has labelled Republic of India the ‘tariff king’
| Picture Credit score: Getty Pictures by means of AFP
Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s fresh declare that Republic of India is an “abuser” of import price lists is arbitrary as many countries together with the U.S. offer protection to their home industries by means of enforcing prime customs tasks on sure merchandise, suppose tank GTRI mentioned on Friday.
It mentioned that in keeping with WTO’s International Tariff Profiles 2023, the U.S. additionally imposes prime tasks on pieces like dairy merchandise (188%); vegatables and fruits (132%); espresso, tea, cocoa and spices (53%); cereals and meals arrangements (193%); oilseeds, fat and oils (164%); drinks and tobacco (150%); fish and fish merchandise (35%); minerals and metals (187%); and chemical substances (56%).
Those numbers reveal that the U.S. additionally protects particular merchandise of its financial system with prime price lists, GTRI mentioned in a file.
Day Republic of India does impose prime price lists on sure pieces, together with wines and vehicles, the International Business Analysis Initiative (GTRI) argued that those figures don’t constitute the whole tariff ground.
“Trump’s argument singles out products with the highest tariffs while neglecting the average and trade-weighted tariffs that better represent India’s trade policy,” he mentioned.
On September 17, Mr. Trump referred to as Republic of India an “abuser” of import price lists, a declare that echoed his October 2020 commentary labelling Republic of India the “Tariff King”.
“While it is true that India imposes high duties on select products, Trump’s argument overlooks essential context, making his accusations unfair,” GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava mentioned, including that many countries offer protection to home industries by means of enforcing important price lists on sure pieces.
Republic of India’s reasonable tariff fee of 17% is upper than the USA’s 3.3%, however homogeneous to alternative main economies like South Korea (13.4%) and China (7.5%).
It additionally mentioned that Republic of India has demonstrated its openness to sovereign business by means of eliminating customs tasks for imports from FTA (sovereign business oath) companions equivalent to ASEAN (Affiliation of South East Asian Countries), Japan, and South Korea.
“However, despite India’s willingness, the US has been reluctant to reduce tariffs through FTAs. This hesitation is clear in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, where no tariff cuts were included, reflecting the US’s cautious approach,” Srivastava mentioned.
If the U.S. is excited about 0 tariff get entry to into the Indian marketplace, it must imagine negotiating a sovereign business oath with Republic of India, he added.
“While India needs serious tariff reforms, the label of ‘Tariff King’ does not hold up when compared to the tariff practices of the USA and other major economies,” he added.
Additional, he mentioned that Mr. Trump does no longer speak about reasonable price lists however singles out merchandise with the very best price lists charged by means of Republic of India.
“For example, on January 24, 2019, he said India charges a high 150% import tariff on the U.S. whiskey. Sure enough, India imposes high duties on many items. 150% on whiskey and wines 100-125% on automobiles. But India is not alone in doing so,” the GTRI mentioned.
In fact, it mentioned, maximum nations have prime price lists on a couple of items equivalent to Japan (457%), Korea (887%) and the U.S. (350%).
Explaining the geographical regions at the back of those prime tasks, Srivastava mentioned that almost all nations fee prime price lists on a couple of pieces with a reason why.
“Japan may like to protect its rice farmers, the US its tobacco farmers and India its growing wine industry. Yet high tariff items do not represent the tariffs at which actual trade happens for most items. Average tariff and trade weightage tariff better represent a country’s tariff profile,” he added.
Printed – September 20, 2024 11:52 am IST
