Tit-for-tat tariff to be deferred

India plans to postpone the retaliatory tariff on goods from the US by 45 days following indications from Washington that it could consider keeping New Delhi out of its additional tariff on steel and aluminium. "The department of commerce has suggested to the department of revenue to amend the notification on retaliatory duty against the US and extend the date of implementation by 45 days beyond August 4," a commerce ministry official said. The retaliatory duties were proposed to neutralise the effect of the additional import duties of 25 per cent and 10 per cent imposed on Indian steel and aluminium, respectively, by the US. India as a retaliatory measure had proposed to impose import duties of $241 million against 29 products from the US. Officials said the two rounds of talks with the US Trade Representative's office have been held so far and no deal has been reached. However, Washington has suggested that it could consider waiving the additional tariff on steel and aluminium if New Delhi could lower the supplies of these metals. The US has not indicated any volume threshold to qualify for exemption and has asked India to submit a proposal.