India Doubles Proposed Retaliatory Duties On Steel, Aluminium Against US At WTO

India has revised upwards its proposal to impose retaliatory duties against the US at the World Trade Organisation over tariffs on steel and aluminium, in view of the further hike in duty by the Trump administration.

In a notification at the WTO, India has said it reserves the right to "adjust the products and tariff rates" in response to the increase in the tariff rate by the United States, from 25% to 50% on steel and aluminium imports. Trump had doubled the steel and aluminium tariffs to 50% in June.

In May, India had already said it reserved the right to retaliate, and had intimated that it intended to raise tariffs on a range of US-origin products, aiming to recover an estimated $1.9 billion in duties—the quantified impact of American Section 232 tariffs on Indian steel and aluminium exports.

Now, with tariffs going up further, India has said it will recover about $3.8 billion, doubling its proposed duties in response to Trump doubling tariffs.

The posturing at WTO comes as fresh negotiations of a first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement between India and the US are set to begin soon. The first few rounds didn't result in a deal being signed around the July 9 deadline. Now, with the tariff pause date shifting to Aug. 1, negotiators on both sides would be looking to seal a deal in the next 20 days.