Over the past nine years, India has gradually raised tariffs on products from the information and communications technology (ICT) sector. For example, tariffs of up to 20 percent are fixed for ICT goods from Europe that are exported to India. The EU had already filed a complaint against this in 2019. The World Trade Organization (WTO) examined the case and ruled in favor of the EU. It said India had not fulfilled its WTO obligation to apply the zero tariff rate to affected goods.
The WTO ruling is of great significance for the European market. The export of ICT products, such as cell phones, cables, power converters or telephones to India amounts to a value of around 600 million euros per year.
The ruling with the WTO’s reasoning can be read in the WTO panel report.
Source: European Commission