US-China Trade War Can Be India’s Golden Opportunity To Boost Exports, Claims Study 

A Commerce Department study has noted that the ongoing trade war between the United States and China affords India a great opportunity to increase its exports to the Communist nation, Economic Times has reported.

Trade between India and China has been heavily skewed in favour of the latter, and a chance to capture some of the United States’ exports could help India bridge this burgeoning trade deficit.

The study has shown that India could potentially benefit by capturing some of the Chinese market for cotton, corn, almonds, wheat and sorghum where the impact of Chinese tariffs on American imports is particularly pronounced.

The extent of tariff differential between Indian and American products can be seen from the fact that while American imports are subject to tariffs of 15 to 20 per cent, imports from other countries enjoy the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) rates of 5 to 10 per cent. Here, India enjoys an added concession in the range of 6 to 35 per cent due to the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement.

Of particular interest to Indian policymakers is the possible opening for corn exports to China. The Chinese corn market is a potentially lucrative one with the country having imported $600 million worth corn. While India exported $143.6 worth of corn over the course of the previous year, this figure does not include China as the country does not import Indian corn. With American corn subject to 25 per cent duty, it is expected that India could capitalise on this opportunity and also diversify its export basket to China.