India has described the United States’ tariffs on aluminium and steel as violative of World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and informed Parliament that it reserves the right to suspend substantially equivalent concessions due to the US’ non-compliance with obligations under the WTO’s Agreement on Safeguards (AoS).The Commerce and Industry Ministry said the US had declined India’s request for consultations under the WTO AoS regarding tariffs on aluminium, steel and related derivative products. The US stated that the measures were imposed under Section 232 of its Trade Expansion Act on national security grounds, claiming they fall within the scope of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994, which allows such exceptions.
India has maintained that these measures are to be treated as safeguard actions, which must be notified and subjected to consultations under the AoS as per WTO rules.
On ongoing discussions for a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with the United States, the Ministry stated that India seeks to expand trade and investment with the world’s largest economy and deepen bilateral ties to promote growth that ensures fairness, national security, and job creation.The Ministry noted that international trade negotiations allow for the inclusion of sensitive sectors and exclusion lists for certain categories of goods on which limited or no tariff concessions are granted. It added that a country may take recourse to trade remedial measures such as anti-dumping duties and safeguards on imports in case of any surge or injury to the domestic industry, within the timelines mutually agreed upon by both sides.Addressing the impact of G7 sanctions on Russian diamonds, the Ministry stated that the identification and traceability challenges of non-Russian diamonds by G7 and EU countries have affected the global diamond trade. It also highlighted a broader decline in consumer demand for luxury goods, including diamonds, due to ongoing geopolitical conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia.India’s diamond exports in FY 2024–25 stood at $15.09 billion, compared to $18.37 billion in FY 2023–24. Imports were $17.19 billion in FY 2024–25, down from $22.99 billion the previous year.The Ministry said India is engaging with the G7 to safeguard its diamond industry. Following the sanctions, the implementation of the full-traceability scheme was deferred from 1 March 2025 to 1 January 2026, and jewellery studded with Russian diamonds processed in third countries was exempted from the scope of sanctions.(Edited by : Akanksha Upadhyay)
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