The recent tariff rate declared by President Trump has sent shock waves to nearly all corners of the world. The plunge in the stock market this Monday reflected the fear and uncertainty in the market. However, the latest statements released by higher government officials are against the tide as he remarks that Indian manufacturers are not “concerned” about the tariff increase.
The US is India’s largest trade partner and India shares a surplus export with the country, the tariffs as earlier reported might have an impact on many exports to the Northern country. But it is been said that more clarity will come in the upcoming days, and nothing can be said as of now.
Talking at a Cert-in event, IT secretary S Krishnan said,
We’ve been in regular consultation with manufacturers in India. They are not overly concerned right now, but it also depends on how this whole situation plays out. It’s a dynamic situation.
The tariffs were imposed on April 3 and are expected to apply from April 9. The leaders in the Indian industries are not panicked despite the hike because it is said that they are better equipped to deal with the situation of other competitors. This is in the backdrop of higher tariffs on other South Asian nations including China, Vietnam, Thailand and Taiwan.
Paritosh Prajapati, CEO of GX group commenting on the state said that a 26 per cent hike might add barriers to Indian exports in hardware, but that being said this tariff is lower than other nations in the region and this gives an edge to Indian manufacturers. He also emphasised that this will however happen if manufacturing is focused by the government and schemes like the “Make in India” is at the centre.
Mahendra Nahata, the MD of HFCL said,
Instead of just assembling components, we must embed higher value designing AI-driven solutions, patenting energy-efficient technologies, and exporting finished innovations aligned with global priorities like climate resilience.
Though it seems that the Indian manufacturing industry is better placed than other players in the market, its strength can only be materialised if the efforts in terms of quantity and quality production are taken into consideration.
