NEW DELHI: The government on Friday finally decided to impose additional customs duty on 29 products, including almonds, walnut and pulses, imported from the United States - a move which came nearly a year after India had decided to retaliate against Washington's move to raise import duties on some steel and aluminium products.The Union finance ministry will soon issue a notification to this effect. The increase in import duties will be effective from June 16. India's move to impose retaliatory tariffs comes 10 days before foreign minister S Jaishankar is to meet US secretary of state Mike Pompeo, the first high-level interaction after the new Modi government took over. Official sources in Delhi said that the government had informed the US authorities about the decision to raise import duties.The government had held off on imposing retaliatory tariffs in the hope that the two countries would negotiate a resolution. The trade dispute was discussed in detail in meetings last week between Jaishankar and his ministerial colleagues, Piyush Goyal and Nirmala Sitharaman.The expectation is that between Jaishankar's meeting with Pompeo and PM Modi's meeting with Trump on the sidelines of G-20 summit in Osaka, India and US would have begun talks to resolve the situation. India has been threatening to impose retaliatory tariff of $235 million on 29 US products to counter President Trump's decision to raise import duty on some steel & aluminium goods.Earlier this month, the White House had announced it was terminating India's special market access to the US under Generalised System of Preferences programme from June 5. The move had dashed hopes of a resolution of outstanding trade issues between the two countries.Trump has complained repeatedly that India is a "very very high tariff nation," highlighting New Delhi's taxes against Harley Davidson bikes. India and US have sparred on trade issues and New Delhi has dragged US to World Trade Organisation over the US duties on steel and aluminium.Trade experts lauded the government's move. "India had to respond to the US steps. There were hopes there would be a resolution but it did not happen. It was high time that India responded to protect its interest," said Biswajit Dhar, professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University. He shrugged off apprehensions that the decision will make products such as almonds and apples costlier for the consumers here.Some other products on which duties will be hiked include some nuts, iron and steel products, apples, pears, flat rolled products of stainless steel, other alloy steel, tube and pipe fittings, and screws, bolts and rivets.Read this report in Bengali