New Delhi now finds itself at a trade policy crossroads. On May 23, the United States formally rejected India’s move to suspend concessions at the World Trade Organization in response to US tariffs on steel and aluminum. With Washington insisting its Section 232 tariffs are “national security measures,” not WTO-sanctioned safeguards, India must decide what to do next. And each path comes with its own risks, trade-offs, and broader implications for US-India relations.One possible path is for India to escalate the dispute at the WTO—not under the Safeguards Agreement, which the US claims doesn’t apply here—but under broader General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade rules. India could argue that Washington is abusing the national security exception under Article XXI, using it as cover for what are in effect protectionist tariffs. There is some legal precedent: in recent years, WTO panels have ruled that Article XXI cannot be used arbitrarily and that its invocation is subject to some scrutiny.
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