India not an 'abuser' of tariffs, Donald Trump's claims unfair: GTRI

PTI New Delhi: Former US President Donald Trump's recent claim that India is an "abuser" of import tariffs is unfair as many nations including America protect their domestic industries by imposing high customs duties on certain products, think tank GTRI said on Friday. It said that according to WTO's World Tariff Profiles 2023, the US also imposes high duties on items like dairy products (188%), Fruits and vegetables (132%), Coffee, tea, cocoa, and spices (53%), Cereals and food preparations (193%), Oilseeds, fats and oils (164%), beverages and tobacco (150%), Fish and fish products (35%), Minerals and metals (187%), and Chemicals (56%).

These numbers demonstrate that the US also protects specific products of its economy with high tariffs, GTRI said in a report. While India does impose high tariffs on certain items, including wines and automobiles, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) argued that these figures do not represent the overall tariff landscape."Trump's argument singles out products with the highest tariffs while neglecting the average and tradeweighted tariffs that better represent India's trade policy," he said. On September 17, Trump called India an "abuser" of import tariffs, a claim that echoed his October 2020 statement labelling 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 said, adding that many nations protect domestic industries by imposing significant tariffs on certain items.

India's average tariff rate of 17% per cent is higher than the US's 3.3%, but similar to other major economies like South Korea (13.4%) and China (7.5%). It also said that India has demonstrated its openness to free trade by removing customs duties for imports from FTA (free trade agreement) partners such as ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations), Japan, and South Korea.