New Delhi (Sputnik) — The Trump administration has withdrawn duty-free concessions under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) on the imports of at least 50 Indian products, mostly from the handloom and agricultural sectors.
President Donald Trump issued a presidential proclamation on Tuesday, leading to the removal of these products from the privilege beginning November 1.
"These products will no longer qualify for duty-free preferences under the GSP program but may continue to be imported subject to regular Most Favored Nation duty-rates," an official of the US Trade Representative told the news agency PTI.
— Federal Register (@FedRegister) October 31, 2018
However, sources in India's Ministry of Commerce have told Sputnik that the revoking of GSP is not country specific.
"Withdrawal of GSP products was done through a regular review process and is not targeted towards any specific country. Impact of GSP withdrawal on 50 Indian products will be $72.3 million based on 2017 data," a government official said.
The GSP is designed to promote economic development by allowing duty-free entry for thousands of products from designated countries.
"We (India and US) are in talks. We are in talks absolutely. India is a highly-valued ally. The president has spoken to the prime minister and so forth. We're in talks," White House Chief Economic Advisor Larry Kudlow told reporters.
Last week, India's Minister of Commerce Suresh Prabhu said that the US had exchanged offers for a possible trade deal with a view to resolving issues related to bilateral commerce.
