Trump opens up new avenues of trade war – now with India and Turkey

Amidst the US negotiations with China to resolve a long damaging trade war President Donald Trump has opened a new avenue of trade war this time with India and Turkey.

Trump claims that India has failed to assure the US it will provide reasonable access to its markets due to which the US intends to terminate India’s preferential trade treatment under a scheme which allows certain products from the country to enter the US duty-free.

The US has also decided to end preferential trade treatment for Turkey, on the basis that it no longer qualifies for the scheme.

The US intends to remove India and Turkey for its Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme as it claims they longer fulfill the criteria.

Under the GSP programme, certain products can enter the US duty-free if the beneficiary developing country meets a set of criteria established by congress.

The criteria include providing intellectual property protection, and giving the US reasonable and fair market access.

The move follows India’s “failure to provide the United States with assurances that it will provide equitable and reasonable access to its markets in numerous sectors,” the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) office said in a statement.

The USTR clarified it was ending preferential treatment for Turkey because “it is sufficiently economically developed” and should no longer benefit from the GSP programme.

The new trade policy may not take effect until at least 60 days after the notifications to US congress and the governments of India and Turkey.