The U.S. government announced India has agreed to reduce specific tariff levels recently levied
against selected textile and apparel imports. The duties, assessed on a per unit charge, rather
than on a value basis, caused tariff increases as high as 100 percent or more on certain products.
They had been imposed by the Indian government in retaliation for defeats it suffered in the World
Trade Organization (WTO) over its practice of banning imports of apparel, textiles and other
consumer products. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (UStr) received an analysis from the
American Textile Manufacturers Institute (ATMI) that showed the duties exceeded UStrs guidelines
for determining whether a country is allowing effective market access.These duty reductions are one
important step in the fight to open Indias market to U.S. textile imports, said Carlos Moore,
executive vice president, ATMI. We appreciate the hard work of the UStr, and especially Ambassador
Esserman, in attaining this result. Despite the reduction of tariffs, barriers remain for the
exportation of U.S. textile products to India, including high ad valorem rates, add-on taxes, and
various rules and procedures.We urge our government to move quickly to remove Indias remaining
trade barriers, Moore concluded.In other news, by a vote of 83-15, the U.S. Senate voted to grant
permanent normal trade relations (Ntr) status to China. The vote, according to Roger W. Chastain,
president, ATMI, Washington, D.C., is a vote against the values of the United States, the U.S.
textile industry, and its 550,000 employees.
(See China: Opportunity or Threat, ATI, this issue).
November 2000
