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HONG KONG, DECEMBER 15: Countering India's allegation that the European Union had asked it to cut industrial tariffs by over 70 per cent, the EU today shot out a mail to all journalists at the WTO Ministerial here telling them not to get misled.
In its e-mail message, the European trade block said in reality the cuts sought from India and Brazil were 29 per cent and 16 per cent respectively.
However, the catch in the e-mail was towards the end of the message. It mentioned the fact that these cuts were sought on applied rates and not from bound rates.
Applied rates are the tariffs actually in practice on products while bound rates are the maximum limits to which a country can levy tariffs.
Yesterday, reacting to EU's offer, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath had said the trade block wanted India to cut tariffs by 77 per cent, Brazil by 75 per cent while limiting the cuts for itself at 24 per cent.
"There has to be a calculation mistake, it cannot be that preposterous," he had quipped.
The EU has made it clear that things could only progress here in Hong Kong if there was some movement on industrial goods and services and the Ministerial could fail if talks focused only on the single issue of agriculture. |