According to media reports, one thing that has been widely spread in the Indian foreign trade industry recently is that the Indian Port of Chennai (Chennai) has stopped customs clearance of all goods from China. Starting from the evening of June 22, 100% of all goods from China will be inspected (before that, it was random inspection). The move is seen as a move by the Indian government to impose restrictions on all goods from China at West Coast ports.
CCBA Notice on Customs Clearance Delay
On June 23, the India Chennai Port Customs Brokers Association (CCBA) also issued a notice to all members regarding internal customs clearance delays, requiring the suspension of all goods from China. Customs clearance work. Goods that have completed customs clearance will need to be re-inspected and will involve all Indian ports and ports.
It is understood that Chennai Port is the largest artificial port in India. Many goods imported by India from China are cleared here and then enter the Indian market.
According to data released by Indian officials, India’s products imported from China mainly include: electrical appliances, furniture, toys, clocks, musical instruments, sporting goods, mattresses, plastic products, steel products, etc.
The total amount of products imported from China accounts for 14% of India’s total imports. From April 2019 to February 2020, India’s total imports of goods from China reached US$15.5 billion.
However, recently, affected by incidents such as the Sino-Indian border conflict, India has launched a boycott of Chinese products.
According to Reuters, on June 18, two Indian government officials said that as part of protecting domestic companies, India plans to set higher trade restrictions on about 300 products from China and other regions. barriers and increase import tariffs. The plan may gradually take shape within the next three months.
Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister of the Government of India, announced in his 2020-21 government budget that the prices for furniture, footwear, home appliances, and mobile phone retail items will be increased. Import tariffs on accessories, toys and other products, and further amend the Anti-dumping and related measures of the Tariff Law (Section 28DA) to restrict imports!
Please pay attention to any Indian customers or foreign traders who plan to enter the Indian market this year!
1 Tariff hike
The Indian government listed the new taxes, saying it was in line with Prime Minister Naren Dehra Modi’s “Make in India” program aimed at boosting domestic industry.
Specific products with increased import tariffs include:
Footwear tariffs Increased from 25% to 35%;
Toy tariffs increased from 20% to 60%;
Tax rates on furniture such as seats, lamps and mattresses increased from 20% to 25 %;
Duties on appliances such as fans, food grinders/blenders, shavers, water heaters, ovens, toasters, coffee makers, heaters and irons, and stationary items such as filing cabinets and paper plates Increased from 10% to 20%;
Tariffs for commercial refrigerators increased from 7.5% to 15%;
Tariffs for refrigerators and air conditioner compressors increased from 10% to 12.5%;
Tariffs on rail transport fans increased from 7.5% to 10%;
Tariffs on welding and plasma cutting machines increased from 7.5% to 10%;
Electric vehicles In terms of imports, tariffs on imported fully built electric buses and electric trucks have been increased from 25% to 40%, tariffs on semi-finished products for buses, trucks and two-wheelers have been increased from 15% to 25%, and tariffs on passenger cars and three-wheelers have been increased from 15% to 25%. % will be increased to 30%, and the tariff on all imported electric vehicle kits (parts imported to India for assembly) will be increased from 10% to 15%; the tariff on shelled walnuts will be increased from 30% to 100%.
2 Increased anti-dumping
The Indian government also further revised the tariff law ( Section 28DA) provides for anti-dumping and defensive measures to restrict imports.
For example, for a product that has been levied anti-dumping duties, if the importer imports and assembles it as semi-finished products, if the added value does not reach 35% of the total manufacturing cost, it will still be regarded as violating the regulations, and an additional The value calculation method will not include technology costs, such as patents, copyrights, trademarks, commissions, etc.
If imported products come from more than one different country and are all subject to anti-dumping investigations at the same time, the Indian government will calculate the impact on the domestic industry together, but only if the dumping difference of the country under investigation exceeds 2% of the export price. And the export volume exceeds 3%.
The budget also stated that when assessing the imposition of anti-dumping duties, the competitiveness of imported products with each other and the competitiveness of imported products with similar domestic products will be considered.
At present, India ranks second in the world in terms of the number of anti-dumping investigations against China after the United States. Among emerging economies, India ranks first in the number of anti-dumping investigations against China, far surpassing countries such as Brazil and Vietnam.
3 Stricter verification of certificate of origin
According to Indian official release According to data, India’s imported products from China mainly include watches, electrical appliances, furniture, toys, clocks, musical equipment, sporting goods, mattresses, plastic products, steel products, etc. The proportion of products imported from China accounts for 14% of India’s total imports. From April 2019 to February 2020, India’s total imports from China have reached US$15.5 billion. This time, India’s 2020 government budget added a new chapter to the tariff law to set stricter standards for FTA origin inspections. Minister Sitharaman said in his budget speech:��From July 1, 2020, 97% of Bangladesh’s tax products exported to my country will enjoy the “zero charge” treatment.
1 India’s second blockade, for China’s textile and clothing exports Minimal impact
India’s blockade will have minimal impact on China’s textile and apparel export market. First of all, the proportion of Chinese textile raw materials and textile products exported to India is very small. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s total exports of textile raw materials and textile products in 2019 were US$260.573 billion, while India’s exports were US$4.589 billion, accounting for only 1.76%.
Secondly, India relies on imports of some textile raw materials from China, but the scale is relatively small and the impact Can be ignored. It is reported that India purchases synthetic silk from China at a scale of US$460 million (equivalent to approximately 31.96 yuan) and synthetic textiles with a total value of US$360 million (equivalent to approximately 2.5 billion yuan) from China. For this type of textiles, the total scale is US$820 million, accounting for only 0.31% of the entire Chinese textile export market, which is almost negligible.
2 India has implemented an anti-dumping investigation, but China’s textile export market share is already at a low level
However, the Indian textile and apparel industry has launched an anti-dumping investigation into some Chinese textile categories when it is unable to protect itself. The impact may be a further decline in China’s total textile exports, but the extent is relatively limited. According to reports, on May 21, 2020, the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry announced its decision to launch an anti-dumping investigation into polyester yarn products originating from China, Indonesia, Nepal and Vietnam. The possible result is that the proportion of total textile exports from China to India will further decrease. At present, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the export of Class 11 textiles in April was only US$113 million, -63.3% month-on-month, which is already at a historical low for the same period in three years, and the decline in the later period may be relatively limited.
However, this time China extended an olive branch of cooperation to Bangladesh. As its important competitor, India’s textile industry may have a better future. It’s not going to be easy. It is reported that the textile industry is an important industry for India’s manufacturing industry. In fiscal year 2018, textiles and clothing accounted for 12% of India’s exports. However, due to the impact of the epidemic, the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) stated in mid-to-late April that without government support, the textile industry may lay off 10 million people during the year.
What is even more surprising is that seeing its own textile industry facing difficulties, India’s first reaction was not to seek to expand cooperation, but to launch an investigation into other countries’ textile materials.
Data show that textiles and raw materials are the top three categories of products exported by India to China. China’s “zero tariff” preferential treatment for Bangladesh means that the proportion of goods imported from Bangladesh may increase significantly, and textile and clothing products, which account for a relatively high proportion, may further increase their market share in China. The common development of bilateral trade may offset some of India’s small impact on China. If India continues to make relevant moves, I am afraid that it will completely lose its advantage in the competition with Bangladesh. </p
