In the backdrop of rising US trade measures against India, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said New Delhi is working with Washington to resolve trade issues and would also follow the World Trade Organisation rules where unilateral actions have been taken against the country.

“I can assure you one thing that the only guiding principle for engagement with the US is to protect India’s commercial interest in its entirety,” the Minister said.

The US has recently taken a number of measures which are unfavourable for India. These include a decision to review India’s eligibility for the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) scheme under which about 3,500 items from the country get duty-free access to the Indian market. The country also put India on a ‘watch-list’ of countries with “potentially questionable foreign exchange policies’ with China and four other countries.

“We have special relation with the US, which is multi-faceted, multi-dimensional and also very strategic. We are working with the US to address the trade issues,” Prabhu said.

The US also recently imposed additional import duties on steel and aluminium shipped from a handful of countries, including India, citing security issues.

The Minister said in situations where the US has taken certain unilateral actions, India will follow the rules of the WTO as well as hold bilateral discussions. “We are completely in the control of situation,” he added.

The Minister was speaking at the launch of ‘FIEO GlobalLinker’, a platform for micro, small and medium scale exporters (MSME) to digitise their businesses.

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