India To Flag Steel Duty Hike Issue At TPF Meet With U.S. On April 10

India will take up the issue of duty hike on certain steel and aluminium products by the U.S. at the Trade Policy Forum meeting on April 10, a commerce ministry official has said.

Other issues, including greater market access for certain fruits like mangoes as well as visa related matters, will also figure in the meeting of senior officials of India and the U.S., the official said.

The TPF is the premier bilateral forum for discussion and resolution of trade and investment issues between the two countries.

It has five focus groups: agriculture, investment, innovation and creativity (intellectual property rights), services, and tariff and non-tariff barriers.

Both sides would discuss ways to further boost the bilateral trade and investments, the official added.

The Trump administration has imposed 25 percent import duty on steel and 10 percent on aluminium items, triggering fears of a global trade war.

The ministry is already studying the impact of duty hike as India exports these goods worth about $ 1.6 billion a year to America.

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With hike in tariffs by the U.S. government, exports of these products to the American market will become expensive and could impact the competitiveness of domestic items.

Major steel exporters to the U.S. comprise Canada, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico and Russia which together account for close to 60 percent of the shipments.

India exported close to 0.9 million tonnes of steel to America in 2017. Some trade experts have suggested that India should drag the U.S. in the World Trade Organization's dispute mechanism against the move as it is not in compliance with the global trade norms.

The bilateral trade between the countries increased to $ 64.52 billion in 2016-17 from $ 62.11 billion in the previous fiscal.

India has received $ 22 billion foreign direct investment from the U.S. between April 2000 and December 2017.

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