Tariff policies under Trump hit India-US trade ties: US Congress report

Under the Trump administration, US-India tensions have increased over each side’s tariff policies, a Congressional report has said, noting that the two sides have also held concerted negotiations to address these trade frictions.

The bipartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS), in its latest report, pointed out that India’s recent tariff hikes on cell phones and other telecommunication goods went up from zero per cent to 15-20 per cent in the last few years.

“Under the Trump administration, bilateral tensions increased over each side’s tariff policies. In general, India has relatively high average tariff rates, especially in agriculture. It can raise its applied rates to bound rates without violating its commitments under the WTO (World Trade Organization),