India ’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry is predicting that Indian-made products can fill much of the gap in the Chinese commodity markets created…
India ’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry is predicting that Indian-made products can fill much of the gap in the Chinese commodity markets created by departing U. S. exports fleeing the escalating trade war between Washington and Beijing .
The study, published earlier this week, identified at least a 100 markets that Indian analysts believe their products could replace U. S. exports to China because Indian-made goods will not be subject to the higher import tariffs that Beijing is starting to impose on products originating in America.
Chinese markets of note include cotton, corn, almonds, wheat and sorghum.
“These retaliatory tariffs provide a window of opportunity for enhancing India ’s exports to China,” the Ministry of Commerce and Industry study said, according to The Economic Times, the leading English-language Indian finance newspaper.
Additional exports to China that India is eyeing, according to the Economic Times, include the markets for fresh grapes, cotton linters, flue-cured tobacco, lubricants and certain chemicals, including benzene.
How long India has to seize the opportunity is unclear. Last week in Washington, Chinese and U. S. trade officials gathered for two days of talks that failed to make any major progress.
The escalating U. S.- China trade war has thus far seen each side impose 25 percent tariffs on a total of $50 billion of one another’s goods. President Trump has threatened a third round of tariffs on an additional $200 billion of Chinese goods, which could happen as early as next month.
On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said progress with Beijing was unlikely before the U. S. resolves trade issues with Europe and America’s two closest neighbors, Canada and Mexico.
Mr. Mnuchin made the comments a day after Mr. Trump made public that the U. S. and Mexico had reached an agreement to revise NAFTA, the three-nation trade pact that also includes Canada. During the announcement, Mr. Trump said now was “not the right time” to discuss China.
As of now, U. S. grape, cotton, tobacco and certain chemicals exported to China are subject to new tariffs of 15 to 25 percent.
The same Indian-made commodities face duties of only 5 to 10 percent because India and China enjoy a “most favored nation” (MFN) trade rate, with further duty reductions available through the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement.
