EU seeks lower car import tariffs from India after Trump push: Report

In a long-pending trade agreement, the European Union now wants India to remove automobile import duties, just as the US administration of President Donald Trump attempted to do the same. According to a report by news agency Reuters, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration is also open to gradually lowering tariffs from the present level of over 100% to 10%.

This is in spite of domestic industry urging for the country to stop tinkering with import levies on EVs for at least four more years in order to protect domestic players, and to maintain at least a 30% tariff even if it begins to reduce it.

European automakers like Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW, as well as Elon Musk's Tesla, which is expected to begin selling imported EVs in India this year, would benefit from the tax reduction if it occurs. The European Commission's trade spokesperson, was quoted in the study as saying, "The EU and India have different approaches, objectives for many of the key areas." "This translates, in some cases, in different levels of ambition,"