FM Sitharaman: India not a tariff king, rates lower than approved

NEW DELHI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday dismissed US charges of India being a "tariff king," asserting that applied duties were lower than the rates approved by Parliament and underlined that govt initiated reforms to simplify the regime.

"For those who still believe in the commentary made in the US that India may be the tariff king... I want two things to be remembered. Given our system of things, we seek Parliamentary approval for deciding on the tariff rate... the permission to go up to a certain level, but effectively you are at a far lower level," she said at an event organised by Exim Bank.

US President Donald Trump repeatedly referred to India as a "tariff king" for maintaining "very high" duties on farm and industrial products, such as automobiles and whiskey. Govt officials maintained that even the rates approved by Parliament are much lower than the bound rate, or the rate committed to the WTO.

While the FM noted that negotiations for trade deals with the EU and the US were moving at a fast pace and could be concluded soon, she sought to highlight the reforms on reducing the number of tariff rates to eight in the last Budget.

"So, for those of us who still think there is still a tariff story in India, I want this to be clear, there are only just eight (tariff rates) including the zero rate. So, we have done a lot of reforms in reducing the burden on trade by cutting down tariffs to support manufacturing and value addition, promote exports, and facilitate trade." Following the changes in the Budget, the average customs duty rate dropped to 10.7% from 11.7%.

Coming on the back of trade deals with the UK and the European Free Trade Association, the new trade deals are expected to open new markets for Indian exporters. The FM said that Indian exports fared well despite global challenges. Observing that exporters are "swimming against tides," she assured all support and urged them to focus on innovation and finding newer markets for their products.

"India is not just about exporting raw foods or commodities. It is exporting today well-engineered products, which meet high standards," Sitharaman said.


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