India Loses WTO Dispute With EU On ICT Tariffs

NEW DELHI, April 18 (Bernama) -- A World Trade Organisation (WTO) panel on Monday ruled against India in a dispute over tariffs on certain goods in the information and communications technology (ITC) sector.

The European Union (EU) had in 2019 objected to India's new import duties on ICT products such as mobile phones, components, and accessories, arguing the measures violated trading rules.

Japan and Taiwan filed similar challenges to the Indian tariffs following the EU's case.

The WTO panel said India's tariffs were not justified and asked it to make them consistent with its obligations.

The EU welcomed the panel's ruling, saying "the WTO upheld all EU claims against India and found that India's tariffs of up to 20 per cent on certain ICT products, such as mobile phones, were not in line with its WTO commitments, and thus are illegal."

The Indian tariffs in dispute affected annual EU technology exports worth 600 million euros (US$655 million), according to the European bloc.

-- BERNAMA