India, EU may strike amicable settlement on ICT import duty

WTO panel ruling on ICT tariff dispute spurs talks between India and the European Union

- Ravi Dutta Mishra

High-level talks between New Delhi and Brussels during the first India-European Union Trade and Technology Council (TTC) meeting last month have eased trade tensions between the two parties, indicating a possible out-of-court settlement in the ongoing information communications technology (ICT) dispute, a government official said.

A solution for the dispute could be found because both India and the European Union (EU) are on the same page as far as China is concerned, the official said, requesting anonymity. While the EU is using a tariff rate quota (TRQ) to protect its steel industry from Chinese imports, India has raised tariffs to boost the manufacturing of electronic items in the country.

This comes after the WTO panel upheld all EU claims against India and found that India’s tariffs of up to 20% on certain ICT products, such as mobile phones, were not in line with its WTO commitments.

The EU had challenged India’s tariffs in 2019 and was joined by other countries, including Japan, Taiwan, China and other countries.