India has strongly rejected allegations in two cases the US Trade Representative is investigating at a time when New Delhi and Washington are to sit at the negotiation table once again for a long-pending trade deal.
In the first case, on March 11, the US announced initiation of investigations against its trading partners, including India, China, Japan and the EU, to look into and address "unfair foreign practices" that adversely impact American manufacturing.
United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer announced the initiation of a probe regarding the "acts, policies, and practices" of the economies under Section 301(b) of the Trade Act of 1974, relating to structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors.
The economies subject to these investigations are Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, the European Union, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
The Government of India, in response, said it "firmly denies all allegations made in the initiation notice".
"The initiation Notice is premised on aggregate macroeconomic indicators, without identifying any specific act, policy or practice of the Government of India that could be considered 'unreasonable or discriminatory' and that 'burdens or restricts United States commerce' as required by Section 301(b) of the Act," according to the submission made by India.
The notice, it said, provides no cogent rationale or prima facie evidence to substantiate its allegation that India has "structural excess capacity" in its major industries, leading to a trade surplus with the United States.
"India submits that the present investigation does not satisfy the requirements for the initiation of this investigation pursuant to Sections 301 and 302 of the Trade Act of 1974. India calls upon the USTR to make a negative determination and terminate the investigation forthwith," it said.
It added that since India and the US have initiated a process of negotiating a bilateral trade agreement, any trade concerns should be addressed within the framework of the trade negotiations and not through unilateral measures.
"India remains willing to constructively engage with the United States in the underlying investigation, including any consultation," it said.
Similarly, in its response to another investigation launched by the USTR on March 12 against a number of nations including India on failure to take action on forced labour, India has submitted that the probe does not satisfy the legal requirements for the initiation.
"India requests the USTR to make a negative determination and terminate the investigation against India. Additionally, India remains willing to constructively engage with the United States in the underlying investigation, including any consultation," according to India's submission.
The submissions have been made by the commerce and industry ministry.
India-US trade-deal talks from April 20
India’s submission to the USTR comes against the backdrop of an official delegation from New Delhi visiting Washington next week for trade talks from April 20.
India and the US have finalised the framework for an interim trade agreement. The pact, initially slated for signing in March, has been delayed following changes in the tariff landscape triggered by a US Supreme Court ruling.
Official sources have earlier indicated that the agreement will be signed once the new global tariff architecture of the US is in place. Under the framework finalised in February, the US had agreed to reduce tariffs on India to 18 per cent.
However, the situation evolved after the US Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariffs. Subsequently, the US imposed a uniform 10 per cent tariff on all countries for 150 days starting February 24, placing India on par with other trading partners.
The shift in tariff policy led to the postponement of a scheduled meeting between the chief negotiators last month, where both sides were expected to finalise the legal text of the agreement.