US rejects India’s consultation request on tariffs on copper and derivative products
The US failed to notify the WTO Committee on Safeguards on taking a decision to apply the safeguard measure, India said
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KHAM
The US has rejected India’s consultation request on American tariffs of 50 per cent imposed on copper and copper derivate products arguing that these tariffs were not safeguard measures as indicated by New Delhi.
“The United States is not maintaining this action pursuant to the safeguards / emergency action provision…and the Agreement on Safeguards (AoS). These tariffs are, therefore, not safeguard measures, and there is no basis to conduct consultations under the AoS with respect to these measures,” per a submission made by the US to the WTO Committee on Safeguards on Monday.
On September 2, India had complained to the WTO about the US adopting a measure imposing 50 per cent tariff on all imports of certain copper products from August 1 2025 for an unlimited duration. “India considers that the measure, although claimed to be taken for security interests, is, in essence, a safeguard measure,” it said.
The US failed to notify the WTO Committee on Safeguards on taking a decision to apply the safeguard measure, India said. Accordingly, as an affected member with significant export interest to the US in the products concerned, India requested consultations with the country.
Exchanging views
The consultations would focus on exchanging views on the measure and to meet the objectives set out in the AoS.
India’s copper product exports to the US in FY2025, valued at $360 million, is not substantial, but the tariffs imposed by the US on all countries can have a ripple effect globally and affect the country’s chip and electronics sector, say industry sources.
In its response to India’s request, the US submitted that the tariffs on copper and copper derivative products were imposed pursuant to Section 232, under which the President determined that tariffs are necessary to adjust imports of the items that threaten to impair the national security of the United States. “Section 232 is a national security statute, and the United States is maintaining this action pursuant to the essential security exception in Article XXI of the GATT 1994,” it said.
Trump also imposed Section 232 tariffs of 50 per cent on import of a number of steel and aluminium products earlier this year, which was questioned by India at the WTO claiming these were safeguard measures and needed to be rolled back. The US had rejected India’s call for consultations using the same argument that these tariffs were not safeguards but measures to protect national security interest.
Published on September 16, 2025
