India will impose retaliatory duties if the European Union goes ahead with its plan to levy a carbon tax on Indian products, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday.
Under the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), Indian exports of steel, aluminum, and cement to the EU could face tariffs of 20-35 per cent.
He said that gradually the talks about climate is dwindling and termed the CBAM as "very very irrational regulations".
The minister asserted that the developed countries should share technologies and and finances to developing and least developing nations to deal with the issues related to climate change.
"If they will put in carbon tax, and now there is a big if for obvious reasons. If they do put it in, we will retaliate. They will put it on products which really will hurt their own economy and the retaliation will further hurt their economy," Mr Goyal said here at an function.
"I think it will be very silly particularly to put tax on friendly countries. I am in continuous dialogue with them and I am hoping wiser sense will prevail in the EU countries," he added.
An official said that India can also retaliate if the UK imposes carbon tax on Indian goods.
During the recent visit to London, Oslo and Brussels, Mr Goyal had flagged concerns over the carbon tax.
"The minister had raised concerns about CBAM and clearly stated that India will retaliate. We have conveyed this to them," the official said.
On the proposed India-US bilateral trade agreement, Mr Goyal said the negotiations are going well.
"...at USD 83,000 per capita income, what the US can produce can never compete with Indian goods...and there are so many technology and innovations and products which are not available in India, which I would rather buy from the US than from many other non-market economies," he said.
The talks for the pact is going "fabulously" well, he said, adding it is a great opportunity for both the countries to come closer together.
"I see the conversations going extremely well. We have a target to USD 500 bilateral trade by 2030 and I think we are progressing in the right direction to achieve that, he said.
On the climate issue, Mr Goyal lamented that the promises made by developed nations at the Paris Agreement have largely remained unfulfilled.
"Since 2015, the larger issue has not just been climate change, but the failure of the developed world to deliver on technology transfers, long-term concessional climate financing, and support under the principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR)," he said.
India accounts for only 3-3.5 per cent of global carbon emissions despite supporting 17 per cent of the world's population.
The minister emphasised the critical need to address the root causes of carbon emissions, particularly overconsumption and waste.
"Excess consumption, especially in high-prosperity nations, leads to systemic carbon emissions - from farm to plate. Every step - production, packaging, transport, storage, and disposal - adds to emissions. This behavioural pattern must be addressed," he added.
"Our per capita emissions remain among the lowest. Yet, the developed world has left us in the lurch," he said, adding, "Europe will end up hurting its own future with these carbon tax imports. Europe needs to address its huge amount of waste in the country. Though I am not worried, because I can see the decline of Europe if they implement CBAM. If Europe does this, it will lead to more opportunities for us to explore. Some economy will have to go down for our economy to go up."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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