US, India Reach Deal to End Indian Retaliatory Tariffs, Several WTO Disputes

The U.S. and India announced a deal June 22 that will end India’s retaliatory tariffs on some U.S. goods while leaving in place the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs that prompted them, and also end six World Trade Organization disputes brought by both the U.S. and India.

The resolution "maintains the integrity of the U.S. Section 232 measures” while also removing Indian retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products “including chickpeas, lentils, almonds, walnuts, apples, boric acid, and diagnostic reagents,” the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a news release the day the deal was reached.

The U.S. agreed to end its WTO disputes against India related to the retaliatory tariffs, as well as on Indian export subsidies and on Indian domestic content requirements for solar cells and modules. India will end WTO disputes on U.S. Section 232 tariffs, U.S. countervailing duties on hot-rolled carbon steel flat products from India and U.S. state incentives for “made in state” renewable energy systems.

The deal was one of several reached during a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to a White House fact sheet. Another will add India as a U.S. critical minerals security partner, joining 12 other countries and the EU in "advancing our common objectives of diversifying and securing our critical mineral supply chains."

Prior to the visit, Senate Finance Committee leaders called on the administration to secure removal of Indian tariffs on apples, blueberries, cherries, dairy, nuts, pears, chickpeas, lentils, potatoes and alcoholic beverages during the visit, and to press India on its sanitary and phytosanitary restrictions that they said discriminate against U.S. growers (see 2306210077).

In a statement June 22, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said: “Removal of these tariffs is a major win for America’s farmers, building on the $15 billion in new or preserved market access for agricultural products that USDA and USTR have delivered under the Biden-Harris Administration. Producers will now be able to increase sales of apples, chickpeas, lentils, almonds, and walnuts to one of the United States’ top trading partners.”