India has not received a response from the US to its request for consultations under a World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement on American tariffs on steel, aluminium and related derivative products, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada told Parliament on Tuesday.
Prasada said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha that the US has defended the measures saying they were taken on national security grounds. India has a different view on this.
India Reserves Right to Retaliate
“India has accordingly reserved its right to suspend substantially equivalent concessions (right to impose equal trade measures in response) as the US has not complied with its obligations under the AoS,” Prasada said, referring to the WTO’s Agreement on Safeguards (AoS).
In a separate reply, the minister said India is engaged in talks with the US on the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) to expand trade and investment between the two countries. He added that India-US bilateral trade talks, which started in March 2025, have had five rounds of talks, the last being from July 14-18, 2025 in Washington, USA.
Protecting Domestic Interests in Trade Talks
“To safeguard the interests of farmers and domestic industry, international trade negotiations allow for inclusion of sensitive, negative or exclusion lists — categories of goods on which limited or no tariff concessions are granted,” Prasada said.
He further said that in case of surge in imports causing harm to domestic industry, countries can use trade remedial measures like anti-dumping duties and safeguards.
In another reply, Prasada said India has not taken any decision to suspend or restrict trade or tourism with Turkey and Azerbaijan. However, imports from Turkey declined from USD 3.78 billion in 2023-24 to USD 2.99 billion in 2024-25.
Major items imported from Turkey in 2024-25 include petroleum crude, gold, inorganic chemicals, granite, natural stones and aircraft & spacecraft parts. From Azerbaijan, key imports include finished leather, medical and scientific instruments, raw hides and skins, fruit and vegetable seeds and metal cutting tools.