The highest tariff levied by Japan is 457%, Korea is 887%, the US is 350% while India’s is 150%, it said, suggesting that the US should consider negotiating a free trade agreement with India if it is keen on zero tariff access.
As per the GTRI report, the US imposes high duties on items like dairy products at 188%, fruits and vegetables at 132%, cereals and food preparations at 193%, oilseeds, fats and oils at 164%, beverages and tobacco are 150%, and minerals and metals at 187%.
Trump, had in October 2020, termed India “Tariff King”.
“Trump’s argument singles out products with the highest tariffs while neglecting the average and trade-weighted tariffs that better represent India’s trade policy,” said GTRI founder Ajay Srivastava, adding that tariff calculations can be quite complex.
India’s average tariff rate of 17% is higher than the US’ 3.3%, but similar to other major economies like South Korea at 13.4% and China 7.5%.The think tank also said that India has demonstrated its openness to free trade by removing customs duties for imports from FTA partners such as Association of South East Asian Nations, Japan and South Korea.“However, despite India’s willingness, the US has been reluctant to reduce tariffs through FTAs. This hesitation is clear in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, where no tariff cuts were included, reflecting the US’s cautious approach,” Srivastava said.
Japan may like to protect its rice farmers, the US its tobacco farmers and India its growing wine industry. Yet high tariff items do not represent the tariffs at which actual trade happens for most items. Average tariff and trade weightage tariff better represent a country’s tariff profile, it said.