India-US Trade War? New Delhi Slaps Increased Tariffs On American Goods

New economic tensions escalated Saturday as India increased tariffs on U.S. goods, such as a 70% tariff on American apples, along with other foods such as almonds and walnuts.

The tariffs will affect 28 U.S. goods in total and is the latest move in an increasingly fraught trade relationship between the two countries. The tariffs will take effect Sunday.

On June 1, the Trump administration announced that India would no longer have special trade status with the U.S. because it "had not assured the United States that India will provide equitable and reasonable access to its markets."

This special trade status is called the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and allows duty-free imports of up to $5.6 billion into the United States from India. India is the biggest beneficiary of the GSP.

The Indian government shot back at this in a press release and said that it "had offered resolution on significant U.S. requests in an effort to find a mutually acceptable way forward. It is unfortunate that this did not find acceptance by the U.S."

Last year, India threatened tariffs on American exports, due to U.S. tariffs on Indian steel and aluminum. The Trump administration and Commerce Department has used Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to justify these tariffs as essential to protect U.S. national security.

According to the Congressional Research Service, bilateral trade of goods and services with India is 2% of U.S. world trade.

The U.S.is the second-largest export market for India. Reuters reported that trade between the two countries stood at $142.1 billion in 2018.