Trump’s claim that India is an abuser of import tariff is unfair: GTRI

Former US President Donald Trump’s recent claim that India is an “abuser” of import tariff is unfair, the research group Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said on Friday.

The group, which focuses on climate change, technology and trade, pointed out although India’s average tariff rate at 17 per cent was higher than the US average (3.3 per cent), many goods in the American market were often imposed tariffs as high as 193 per cent in a bid to protect domestic products.

GTRI pointed out that “high tariff items do not represent the tariffs at which actual trade happens for most items”, adding that average tariffs and those weighted by trade define India’s trade policy.

According to the research group, India on the other hand has always shown willingness for free trade by doing away with duty on goods imported from Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partners such as Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), South Korea and Japan. Trump’s claim about Indian tariffs glosses over this essential context, which makes it unfair, GTRI founder Ajay Srivastava said.

On September 17, Trump said India was an “abuser” of import tariffs, in an assertion that reminded of his statement in October 2020 where he said that India was “Tariff King”. Trump’s comments came at a Presidential election campaign in Michigan where he, incidentally, also said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a “fantastic” leader.

GTRI drew data from World Tariff Profiles 2023 of the World Trade Organisation, to show that the United States placed extremely high tariffs on many goods including cereals and food items (193 per cent); dairy products (188 per cent); oil, oilseeds and fats (164 per cent); tobacco and beverages (150 per cent); fruits and vegetables (132 per cent); chemicals (56 per cent) and tea, coffee, cocoa and spices (53 per cent).