European Union: Issued WTO panel report in dispute against India's tariffs on information and communication technology products

On 17 April 2023, the World Trade Organization (WTO) published the panel's decision on the "India-Tariffs on ICT Goods (EU)" case (DS582). The panel ruled in favour of the EU and found that India's tariffs of up to 20% on certain information and communications technology (ICT) products were inconsistent with India's WTO commitments and could not be justified. In particular, the panel found that India breached Articles II-1(a) and (b) of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 on Schedules of Concessions and rejected India's assertions that its binding tariff commitments are set forth in the Information and Technology Agreement (ITA). More specifically, the panel found that India breached its obligations by limiting its zero-duty commitment to products that existed at the time of this commitment and excluding recent technological products falling under the same tariff line.