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US to end preferential treatment terms to India in trade, India not to retaliate

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US to end preferential treatment terms to India in trade, India not to retaliate

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In a move seen as a major setback to India-US bilateral relations in trade and economy, US President Donald Trump on Monday, March 4, told the US Congress he intended to terminate the designation of India and Turkey as beneficiary developing countries under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme.

The program, which sets zero tariffs for certain goods from a set of 120 developing countries in order to foster trade and economic development, accounts for some $5.6 billion of India’s exports to the US, making India the largest GSP beneficiary. Exports to the US from India under GSP — at $5.58 billion — were over 12 per cent of India’s total goods exports of $45.2 billion to the US.

The GSP programme allows duty-free entry of 1,784 products from India into the US, benefitting exporters of textiles, engineering, gems and jewellery and chemical products, said a media report.

In a letter to the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, Trump said that New Delhi had “not assured” the United States that it would “provide equitable and reasonable access” to the markets of India.

“I am taking this step because, after intensive engagement between the United States and the Government of India, I have determined that India has not assured the United States that it will provide equitable and reasonable access to the markets of India…” Trump said in a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and President of the Senate, shared with reporters.

A mandatory 60 days must now pass after notice has been given to the beneficiary countries and to Congress, during which time there is, technically speaking, the possibility of negotiation. After the 60-day period, a beneficiary country can be taken off the GSP list by a presidential proclamation.

While Trump said in his letter that he “will continue to assess whether the Government of India is providing equitable and reasonable access to its markets, in accordance with the GSP eligibility criteria,” a re-negotiation of India’s place under the system is, however, unlikely, The Hindu reported quoting sources.

In a separate letter, Trump also informed the Congress of his intent to terminate the GSP beneficiary designation of Turkey. This was primarily because the economy of Turkey had improved a lot in the last four-and-a-half decades and is no longer a developing country.

“In the four-and-a-half decades since Turkey’s designation as a GSP beneficiary developing country, Turkey’s economy has grown and diversified,” he said.

Trump has had several disagreements with Turkey’s leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. His country’s once-robust economy has weakened, and that will likely be a key issue in local elections at the end of the month, said a Bloomberg report.

In a separate statement, the US Trade Representative (USTR) said India’s termination from GSP followed its failure to provide the US with assurances that it would provide equitable and reasonable access to its markets in numerous sectors. “India has implemented a wide array of trade barriers that create serious negative effects on United States commerce.  Despite intensive engagement, India has failed to take the necessary steps to meet the GSP criterion,” the United States Trade Representative (USTR) said on its website.

“By statute, these changes may not take effect until at least 60 days after the notifications to Congress and the governments of India and Turkey, and will be enacted by a Presidential Proclamation,” the USTR said.

Under the United States GSP programme, certain products can enter the US duty-free if the beneficiary developing countries meet the eligibility criteria established by Congress. The GSP criteria include, among others, respecting arbitral awards in favour of US citizens or corporations, combating child labour, respecting internationally recognised worker rights, providing adequate and effective intellectual property protection and providing the US with equitable and reasonable market access. Countries can also be graduated from the GSP programme, depending on factors related to economic development.

Points of friction

India’s new e-commerce rules, price controls on medical devices and tariffs on ICT (information and communications technology) products are among the issues that have caused trade frictions between the two countries. Trump has repeatedly taken shots at India’s tariffs, which he views as unreasonable. US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross recently raised concerns regarding new trade barriers created by India, hinting at the stringent e-commerce rules that affected US companies such as Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart.

The Trump Administration had launched an eligibility review of India’s compliance with the GSP market access criterion in April 2018. The USTR announced that it was reviewing the GSP eligibility of India, after the US dairy industry and the US medical devices industry requested a review of India’s GSP benefits, given India’s alleged trade barriers affecting US exports in these sectors. Total US imports under GSP in 2017 was $21.2 billion, of which India was the biggest beneficiary with $5.6 billion, followed by Thailand ($4.2 billion) and Brazil ($2.5 billion).

“India has implemented a wide array of trade barriers that create serious negative effects on United States commerce. Despite intensive engagement, India has failed to take the necessary steps to meet the GSP criterion,” the USTR said.

India to take it easy

The Indian government on Tuesday downplayed the effect of the decision by the United States government to withdraw trade concessions granted to India under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP).

India’s Commerce secretary Anup Wadhawan, The Hindu reported, said that the impact would amount to $190 million on total export amount of $5.6 billion to the US.

He said disproportionate demands from the US led to the collapse of talks even though India was ready for greater market access in agricultural products to the US.

“The withdrawal of GSP benefits to India will have a minimal and moderate impact,” Wadhawan was reported to have said at a press conference. “The total GSP benefits amount to about $190 million on overall exports of $5.6 billion between the two countries.”

“We had worked out a meaningful package that covered the US’ concerns but they made additional requests which were not acceptable at this time,” he added.

Wadhawan added that India was still in talks with the US on the higher import duties that country charges on steel and aluminium, and said that India was still reviewing whether it would impose retaliatory tariffs or not. The government had in the middle of last year decided the list of items on which it would impose retaliatory tariffs, but has since then postponed the deadline of implementation six times, said The Hindu report. The latest deadline is April 1, 2019.

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Kremlin denies US media reports on Donald Trump’s phone call with Vladimir Putin

Donald Trump said on the campaign trail that he could end the fighting within hours and has indicated he would talk directly with Russian President Putin.

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2 weeks ago

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November 11, 2024

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Kremlin denies US media reports on Donald Trump’s phone call with Vladimir Putin

The Kremlin today denied a US media report that Russian President Vladimir Putin and US president-elect Donald Trump had spoken on the phone last week about the Ukraine conflict.

Earlier on Sunday, The Washington Post reported that Donald Trump spoke to Vladimir Pution on call, urging him not to inflame the conflict. Speaking on the matter, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media that the report was completely false information, and denied any phone call took place.

It was reported that US President-elect Donald Trump has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged him not to escalate the war in Ukraine. It said that Donald Trump held the call from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Thursday, just days after his stunning election victory over Democratic rival Kamala Harris. The report also mentioned that both the leaders expressed an interest in further conversations to discuss the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon.

Notably, Donald Trump said on the campaign trail that he could end the fighting within hours and has indicated he would talk directly with Russian President Putin. However, the US President elect has not said how he intends to strike a peace deal or what terms he is proposing.

Donald Trump’s election is seen as carrying the potential to upend the almost three-year Ukraine conflict, as he insists on a quick end to the fighting and casts doubt on Washington’s multi-billion dollar support for Kyiv.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with Trump on Wednesday, with the Republican’s billionaire backer Elon Musk also notably joining them on the call. Volodymyr Zelensky described the call as excellent, adding that he and Trump had agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation.

Additionally, the outgoing Democratic administration of President Joe Biden has confirmed that it will send as much aid as possible to Ukraine before Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the White House aims to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position on the battlefield so that it is ultimately in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.

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India calls out Canada’s move to ban Australia Today for airing S Jaishankar’s press conference

The MEA said that these actions yet again highlight the hypocrisy of Canada towards freedom of speech.

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2 weeks ago

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November 7, 2024

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India calls out Canada’s move to ban Australia Today for airing S Jaishankar's press conference

A few hours after Australia Today aired External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s press conference in Australia, Canada banned the outlet. The External Affairs Minister gave remarks on the India-Canada diplomatic standoff. 

Reacting to this, India on Thursday said it was surprised by Canada’s move to ban the outlet and emphasized that it highlighted Ottawa’s hypocrisy towards freedom of speech. Australia Today, which is an important outlet for the Indian community in the country, had aired the joint press conference of S Jaishankar and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong in Canberra.

In a weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that they understand that the social media handles, pages of this particular outlet, which is an important diaspora outlet, have been blocked and are not available for viewers in Canada. He continued that this happened just an hour or a few hours after this particular handle carried the press conference of S Jaishankar with Penny Wong. He called out the incident, mentioning that they are surprised, and the matter looks strange to them.

He further underlined that these are the actions which yet again highlight the hypocrisy of Canada towards freedom of speech. He noted that the External Affairs Minister spoke about three things: Canada making allegations and a pattern had developed without any specific evidence, surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada, which he termed as unacceptable, and  the political space which has been given in Canada to anti-India elements. 

With this one can draw conclusions, why Australia Today channel was blocked by Canada, the spokesperson said. Australia Today focuses on news and analytical pieces related to the Indian community in Australia and elsewhere across the world.

This incident follows days after devotees were attacked by pro-Khalistani at a Hindu temple in Canada’s Brampton, with S Jaishankar calling it deeply concerning. Furthermore, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condemned the attack and said that there were cowardly attempts to intimidate Indian diplomats.

The diplomatic standoff between India and Canada began in September last year when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that Indian government agents might have been involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a claim outrightly rejected by New Delhi.

Later in October 2024, ties between both the countries nosedived when Canada termed the Indian High Commissioner a person of interest in its investigation into Nijjar’s murder. Issuing a strongly worded statement, India dismissed the fresh charge and recalled the envoy and some diplomats, while expelling six Canadian officials, including Canada’s acting High Commissioner.

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PM Modi congratulates Donald Trump on winning US President election

The Prime Minister urged Trump to work for the betterment of the people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity.

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2 weeks ago

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November 6, 2024

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday congratulated Donald Trump on winning the 2024 US Presidential election and said he is looking forward to renewing their collaboration to further strengthen the India-US partnership.

The Prime Minister urged Trump to work for the betterment of the people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity.

“Heartiest congratulations my friend @realDonaldTrump on your historic election victory. As you build on the successes of your previous term, I look forward to renewing our collaboration to further strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global and Strategic Partnership. Together, let’s work for the betterment of our people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity,” PM Modi posted on his X handle.

With the results being announced for the 2024 US election on November 6, Trump became the 47th President of the United States.

Former US President Trump appeared to be on track for a remarkable political comeback in the White House race. Projections suggested that he was poised to secure the necessary 270 electoral college votes, effectively blocking Democratic candidate Kamala Harris from winning the election.

The relationship between Trump and Modi has been characterised by robust diplomatic ties, strategic collaboration, and a noticeable personal rapport. Their friendship was prominently displayed during major events such as “Howdy, Modi” in Houston in 2019 and “Namaste Trump” in Ahmedabad in 2020, where they addressed large audiences and expressed their mutual respect.

On a strategic level, Trump and Modi found common ground in matters of defense and security, both adopting a strong stance against terrorism, which reinforced their alliance, particularly concerning threats from Pakistan.

As he approaches a notable victory in the US election, Republican Presidential candidate Trump expressed gratitude to his supporters today, calling it a magnificent victory for the American people. He also referenced the assassination attempt on July 13, stating, “God spared my life for a reason.”

The 78-year-old candidate is currently projected to secure 267 electoral college votes, just three shy of the decisive 270, while his opponent, incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris, holds 224 electoral votes.

Trump described the Republican campaign as the greatest political movement of all time, asserting, “We are going to help our country heal, secure our borders, and we made history for a reason tonight. This is an incredible political victory. I want to thank the American people. I will fight for you and your family with every breath I have.”

He noted that Democrats are now looking at a projected total of 315 electoral votes.

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