According to Pravakar Sahoo, NITI Aayog Program Director, the US mutual tariff plans may not hurt most of India’s export sectors as Canada, Mexico and China will generate higher tariffs.
“We are looking at the data at a very separate level. And these are preliminary results as the report is not final. But we can give an overview that we will not lose. This mutual tariff will not affect India except for a very specific sector.
Sahoo said that three Indian competitors in the US market (China, Mexico and Canada) accounted for 50% of US exports and were added with very high tariffs.
Canada and Mexico are expected to face 25% tariffs in the US, while China’s tariffs are around 20%.
“Comparing our position with competitors’ after-sales tariffs is far better in post-scenarios.
Speaking at the event, NITI Aayog member Arvind Virmani said five countries gained after trade tensions broke out between the US and China in 2017. India is fifth of five countries benefiting from China’s losses, and the challenge was to move the country to its first position, he said.
Virmani suggested that a free trade agreement with a manufacturing-heavy country, the source of FDI and the headquarters of MNCS, would be beneficial for India as it could act as a lead anchor investor.
“The best countries in this context are the US, the EU, Japan, the UK and South Korea,” he said.
When asked about the high possibility that many other people, not just China, but also India, would be hit by US tariffs, Virmani said they must focus on opportunities while dealing with others.
The US plans to impose mutual tariffs on countries with high tariffs on April 2, but India, which is negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with the country, wants to avoid them.
