The European Union wants India to eliminate tariffs on car imports under a long-pending trade deal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is willing to sweeten its current proposal to seal the talks, sources told Reuters.
India is open to the phased reduction of tariffs to 10% from more than 100%, two industry sources and a government official said. That is despite industry lobbying for India to retain at least a 30% tariff even if it starts reducing the levy, and also not tinker with import duties on EVs for four more years to protect domestic players.
The EU's demands come weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump's administration sought a similar elimination of import duties on cars, including EVs, as part of bilateral trade talks with India, piling pressure on domestic carmakers.
Tariff cuts will be a victory for European carmakers such as Volkswagen (VOW3.DE), Mercedes-Benz (MBGAF) and BMW (BMW.DE), widening their access to India. It could also be a win for Elon Musk's Tesla (TSLA) which will begin sales of imported EVs in India this year probably from its Berlin plant.
Posted by John3262005