Duty imposed on steel, aluminium for security reasons: US to India

The US informed the global trade body, World Trade Organisation (WTO), that the decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium, was based on national security grounds and should not be considered as safeguard measures, according to a communication.

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The US shared this response with the WTO after India requested consultations under the Safeguards Agreement on April 11 with America.

India said notwithstanding the USA’s characterisation of these measures as security measures, they were in essence safeguard measures. It also stated that America had failed to notify the WTO Committee on safeguards under a provision of the Agreement on Safeguards (AoS) on taking a decision to apply safeguard measures.

“The US notes that the premise for India’s request for consultations under Article 12.3 of the Agreement on Safeguards is that the tariffs are safeguard measures.... The (US) President imposed the tariffs on steel and aluminium pursuant to Section 232, under which the President determined that tariffs are necessary to adjust imports of steel and aluminium articles that threaten to impair the national security of the US,” America said.