New Apple Tariffs By India Follows Relief From Mexico

The apple industry in Washington state expects exports to India to slow down even more after the country tacked on a 20 percent retaliatory tariff, bringing the total duty to 70 percent.

India added the tariff to apples and 27 other American products Sunday after the U.S. government ended a preferential trade program with the country earlier this year.

India had imported 7.8 million 40-pound boxes of the state’s 2017 apple crop by June 2018. It imported a record 8 million boxes by the end of season. It has imported 2.6 million boxes of the 2018 crop since last week.

The Washington State Apple Commission’s Toni Lynn Adams said the apples could depress prices for all growers if the industry cannot find alternative export markets.