India Seeks to Benefit from US Curbs of China Imports, Prepares List of 151 items for Exports

Move to take advantage of the ongoing trade war between the two countries

In its efforts to execute an effective plan to increase exports to the US and China as the two countries continue to engage in a tariff war with each other, the Commerce Ministry is roping in exporters to share their strategy to exploit the opportunity and also point out the pain points.

At a meeting to be chaired by the Commerce Minister on July 31, exporters and officials will focus on the high potential items for exports already identified by the government and how exports can be enhanced, a government official said.

“Exporters will share with the government the strategies they could adopt to make the most of the situation and grab a bigger market share in the US and China. They will also point out the specific constraints that they face,” the official pointed out.

All barriers and challenges faced by exporters in penetrating the US and Chinese markets such as regulatory impediments, cost of compliance with regulations, currency movement, high cost of credit, infrastructure problems and difficulties faced in integrating with the value chain will be discussed at the meet.

Items of exports

In a recent study in which it analysed the items on which the US and China have imposed high tariffs on each other’s imports, the Commerce Ministry identified 203 products where exports could be increased to the US, replacing Chinese goods, and 151 items where exports to China could be pushed up.

The items where India can get better market access in the US include a number of farm products, chemicals, electrical machinery and equipment, and base metals and articles.

In the Chinese market, Indian exporters could try to increase shipments of items such as chemicals, granite, inverters, copper ore and concentrates, and equipment for transmission of voice/data in a wired network as US exports of these items to China have been hit because of the high tariffs, the study highlighted.

“The exercise of identifying items with potential in itself will not amount to much until we make concrete efforts to draw a strategy to increase exports of each of the products. This is exactly what the Commerce Ministry is trying to do by involving the exporters who could guide policy making based on their experience in both the markets,” the official said.

Till now, the US has imposed tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese products, and has threatened tariffs on $325 billion more of exports. In retaliation, China has imposed tariffs on $110 billion worth of US exports.