Geneva (TDI): India and Japan have recently notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) of potential retaliatory actions in response to US tariffs on steel and aluminum.
The European Union and UK had submitted similar notifications to the body earlier.
WTO documents show that both Asian countries argue that the US tariffs, imposed since March 2018, constitute safeguard steps under the WTO Agreement on Safeguards, although they were not officially notified by the US to the WTO. In line with this deal, the two nations said that they reserve the right to suspend concessions and other obligations by imposing additional levies on selected US imports, according to Global Times.
New Delhi estimates that the levies will affect $7.6 billion worth of its relevant exports to the US, generating 1.91 billion dollars in tariffs.
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India has pledged to impose an equivalent amount of tariffs collected from goods originating in the US as part of its proposed suspension of concessions.
Japan’s WTO notification shows that its retaliatory actions will target not only US steel and aluminum levies, but also US import restrictions on automobiles and auto parts.
The proposed suspension of concessions will take the form of an equivalent increase in levies on selected US items, according to the notification.
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It added that the details, based on the latest export data, will be provided to the WTO before the implementation.
The US started imposing 25% levies on steel and 10% on aluminum imports in March 2018 under Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act, citing “national security concerns.”
In February 2020, these levies were extended to derivative steel and aluminum products.
