• Indian government slapped higher duties on a number of US import items including apples, almonds, walnuts, diagnostic reagents and certain steel products in retaliation of US tariff hikes.
• A bulk of these products figure in a list of items imported from the US, alongside other countries.

• India is the 21st largest agricultural export market for the US.
• Total American exports of agricultural products to India totaled $1.3 billion in 2016.
• Leading items in agricultural products category that are imported by India from US include: tree nuts, cotton, pulses , fresh fruit , and planting seeds .
• This is the latest salvo in the ongoing tariff  tussle between the U.S. and several of its trading partners. 
• India’s move comes close on the heels of escalating trade tensions, with the U.S. and China both imposing hefty tariffs on each other, and even the European Union joining the fray. 
• The row began in March, when U.S. President Donald Trump signed an order imposing a 25% tariff on steel imports and a 10% tariff on aluminium imports.
• The notification, however, says these higher tariffs would come into effect from August 4, leaving room for further discussions between the U.S. and India before the new rates are implemented.
• The notification does not mention a tariff hike on 800 cc (or more) motorcycles, which would affect Harley Davidson imports, already a sore point.

• All sides engaged in a trade war are likely to lose eventually.
• The longer it goes on, the greater thecost as growth slows down under the increasing 

burden of taxes. 

• The only gainers in a trade war will be specialinterest groups, such as the U.S. steel 

industry, which also happens to be a major vote bank for Mr. Trump.

• Even retaliatory tariffs aimed at pushing back the U.S. may only perpetuate the vicious negative­ sum game instead of bringing the war to an end.