India has formally proposed retaliatory duties against the United States at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in response to Washington's 25% tariff on automobiles and certain auto parts, which New Delhi says could impact $2.89 billion worth of Indian exports.
In a WTO notification, India stated:
“India reserves the right to suspend concessions or other obligations... that are substantially equivalent to the adverse effects of the measure to India's trade.”
According to the filing:
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The U.S. tariffs would result in $725 million in duty collection, and
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India will impose an equivalent amount of duty on U.S. products.
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However, India has not yet specified the tariff rate or which U.S. goods will be targeted.
This move comes amid tense trade negotiations, with India hoping to finalize a trade agreement with the U.S. before the July 9 deadline set by President Donald Trump. Trump has warned of imposing a 26% tariff on all Indian imports if a deal isn’t reached by then.
India has expressed willingness to lower some of its high tariffs for U.S. goods, but it remains firm on not opening its agriculture and dairy sectors — longstanding points of contention in U.S.-India trade relations.
This escalation marks another strain in the already fragile trade relationship, which has seen tit-for-tat measures since the U.S. revoked India's preferential trade status under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) in 2019.
