COMMUNICATION
FROM THE UNITED STATES IN RESPONSE TO INDIA'S NOTIFICATION PROPOSING TO SUSPEND
CONCESSIONS UNDER ARTICLE 8.2 OF
THE AGREEMENT
ON SAFEGUARDS, ADDENDUM
United States
Supplement
The following communication,
dated and received on 16 July 2025, is being circulated at the request of
the delegation of the United States.
_______________
The United States has received India's notification of an addendum[*],
dated 8 July 2025, to its previous notification, dated 9 May 2025, under
Article 12.5 of the Agreement on Safeguards.
India's 9 May 2025 notification pertained to its proposed suspension of
concessions or other obligations under Article 8.2, with respect to the tariffs
imposed on steel and aluminum and their derivatives pursuant to Section 232 of
the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. India's 8 July 2025 addendum purports to
reserve its rights to adjust its level of suspension of concessions or other
obligations under Article 8.2, based on an adjustment in the
aforementioned Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum that postdated India's
9 May 2025 notification.
The United States notes, once again, that the premise for
India's proposed suspension of concessions or other obligations under Article
8.2 is that the tariffs are safeguard measures for purposes of that Agreement.
As detailed in the reply of the United States, dated 22 May 2025, to India's 9 May
2025 notification, there is no basis for this premise. Accordingly, with regard
to India's latest notification, the United States incorporates by reference its
22 May 2025 reply to India.
In brief, the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum are
not safeguard measures within the meaning of Article XIX of the GATT 1994
or the Agreement on Safeguards.
The President imposed these tariffs under Section 232, which is a national
security statute, and the United States is maintaining these actions pursuant
to the essential security exception in Article XXI of the GATT 1994. Thus,
Article 8.2 does not apply in this context, and, furthermore, India has not
complied with the prerequisite obligations under the Agreement on Safeguards to suspend concessions or other
obligations under Article 8.2.
Accordingly, there is no legal basis
for India's proposal to suspend concessions or other obligations with respect
to these measures.
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[*] _G/L/1571/Add.1
- _G/SG/N/12/IND/5/Add.1.