On 27th July 2024, the World Trade Organization (WTO), in collaboration with the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), released a report ‘World Tariff Profiles (WTP) 2024’ in Geneva, Switzerland.
- The report ranked India as the second-largest user of Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) among WTO members in 2023, primarily through the initiation and imposition of anti-dumping duties.
- The United States of America (USA) is named the largest user of NTMs in 2023.
- NTMs are policies, other than regular customs tariffs, that affect international trade in goods by altering traded quantities, prices, or both.
Assessment:
This report provides comprehensive information on the tariffs and NTMs imposed by over 170 countries and customs territories. The 2024 edition also covered special topic of Tariffs on critical minerals in the Electric Vehicle (EV) value chain.
Highlights:
Tariff Changes:
i.India’s average tariffs decreased to 17% in 2023 from 18.1% in 2022.
ii.Trade-weighted average tariffs increased to 12% in 2023 from 11.4% in 2022.
iii.Non-agriculture import tariffs fell to 13.5% in 2023 from 14.7% in 2022, while agriculture tariffs decreased to 39% in 2023 from 39.6% in 2022.
iv.Trade-weighted agriculture tariffs rose to 65% in 2023 from 48.5% in 2022, and non-agriculture tariffs slightly decreased to 9% in 2023 from 9.2% in 2022.
Non-Tariff Measures and Tariffs:
i.In 2023, India initiated 45 anti-dumping investigations and implemented duties in 14 cases, following 64 investigations and 14 extra duties imposed by the USA.
ii.India has a total of 133 anti-dumping measures affecting 418 products.
- In 2022, India led WTO members in anti-dumping investigations with 29 initiations.
iii.As an exporter, India was the target of 11 investigations and faced anti-dumping duties in 8 cases in 2023, amounting to a total of 103 anti-dumping cases on 217 products.
Note:
Anti-dumping duties protect local companies from foreign suppliers selling goods below their normal value. The duty amount is based on the dumping margin.
Countervailing Duties (CVD):
i.In 2023, India initiated 3 countervailing investigations and implemented CVD in 3 cases bringing the total to 17 countervailing duty cases covering 28 products.
ii.India faced 4 CVD investigations as an exporter and action in 3 cases, with 44 countervailing actions in force covering 173 products.
Note:
CVD apply to government subsidized goods from foreign countries that harm domestic industries. The duty amount based on the subsidy value.
Safeguard Duties:
i.India initiated 1 safeguard investigation and imposed extra duties in 2 cases in 2023.
Note:
Safeguard duties, which are temporary and imposed regardless of the country of export, protect domestic industries from a surge in imports, unlike anti-dumping and countervailing duties which are country-specific.
Final Average Bound Tariff:
i.India’s final average bound tariff is 50.8% for all products.
ii.For agriculture products, the bound tariff is 113.1%, and for non-agriculture products, it is 36%.
Recent Related News:
i.According to the “Global Trade Outlook and Statistics: April 2024” report released by the WTO, the global merchandise trade volume is projected to grow by 2.6% in 2024 and 3.3% in 2025 as demand fortraded goods rebounds following a contraction in 2023.
ii.According to the Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2024, Delhi has ranked 350th among the world’s largest 1,000 cities and emerged as the highest-ranked Indian city. New York City, USA has topped the 2024 Index followed by London, The United Kingdom (UK) and San Jose, USA at 2nd and 3rd rank.
About World Trade Organization (WTO):
Established in 1995, WTO is the sole global organization that governs trade rules between nations.
Director-General-Okonjo-Iweala
Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland
Members– 164
