The World Trade Organisation's (WTO) dispute settlement body has decided to establish a panel to assess if high customs duties imposed by the US on certain steel and aluminium products infringes global trade norms. India had asked the Geneva-based multilateral body to set up the dispute panel against the US for imposing high import duties on certain steel and aluminium products, as both the countries failed to resolve the issue in a bilateral consultation process under the dispute settlement mechanism of the WTO.
Consultation is the first step of the dispute settlement process in the organization. If the two countries are not able to reach a mutually agreed solution through consultation, a country can request for a WTO dispute settlement panel to review the matter. Imposition of high import duties on these items by the US has impacted exports of these products by Indian businesses. The US move is also not in compliance with global trade norms.
Besides, India, Russia, Norway, Canada, Mexico, Switzerland, and European Union have also dragged the US in the WTO on Washington's move to impose 25% and 10% import duties on certain steel and aluminium products, respectively, which triggered global trade tensions. India has a significant export interest to the US on the steel and aluminium sector. As per estimates, India exports steel and aluminium goods worth about $1.6 billion a year to the US. The US had imposed these duties on grounds of national security.