US removes India from developing nations list

On Monday, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) removed a number of countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, Hong Kong, South Africa & Argentina from its list of developing countries that get trade benefits. US removed India from the list because of the latter’s G-20 membership. “For purposes of US CVD law, the USTR therefore considers countries with a share of 0.5% or more of world trade to be developed countries,” the USTR stated. (India’s share in global exports stood at 1.67% in 2018; while for global imports, it was 2.57%.)

Last year, the US had proposed withdrawal of special rights and exemptions for emerging economies such as India and China, which are members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), G20, classified as “high income” by the World Bank or account for more than 0.5% of global merchandise trade.

 

This development has also subdued the possibility of the restoration of preferential benefits under the Generalised System of Preference. This move comes ahead of President Donald Trump’s India visit on February 24-25.