EU wins WTO case on India’s tariffs on information and communication technology products
The WTO found that India's tariffs of up to 20% on certain ICT products were not in line with its WTO commitments, and thus are illegal.
The WTO found that India's tariffs of up to 20% on certain ICT products were illegal.
The European Commission (EC) today issued a release announcing that the World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled in favour of the EU in a case challenging India's tariff on key information and communication technology (ICT) products.
According to the EC release, the WTO found that India's tariffs of up to 20% on certain ICT products were not in line with its WTO commitments, and thus are illegal.
The WTO panel also confirmed:
- India's tariffs could not be justified by any of the reasons India brought forward in this case.
- No mistake was committed when determining India's tariff commitments, including when the tariff lines nomenclatures were updated.
Background
India has since 2014 gradually introduced customs duties of up to 20% on products such as mobile phones, mobile phone components and accessories, line telephone handsets, base stations, static converters or electric wires and cables. The EU considered that these duties were in direct breach of WTO rules since India is required under its WTO commitments to apply a zero-duty rate to such products.
The EU initiated the WTO dispute settlement case in 2019.
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