Commerce ministry to get PMO approval on list of items for Chinese import cuts

The government is weighing the pros and cons of halting imports, including that from China, on India’s manufacturing sector and the commerce ministry will soon submit to the prime minister’s office a list of items of inward shipments that can be restricted in the near future without impacting domestic manufacturing.

The government has held various meetings in the past two weeks with sectoral experts and businesses and is now preparing an official list of commodities that can be locally manufactured, an official said, adding that ample caution will be maintained before taking any decision even as voices against Chinese goods have been gaining momentum.

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), the apex body of approximately of over six crore traders has been vociferously campaigning against Chinese products and in its latest call announced that it will not use Zoom video conferencing application as part of its broader boycott of Chinese goods.

Meanwhile, the government is preparing for a transformational shift in six big areas of ease of doing business, logistics, land bank, Special Economic Zones and power sector to give a tough competition to China, the official said.

A new foreign direct investment (FDI) policy is expected to be released soon aiming to curb low grade imports. India had tightened its FDI policy in April to curb opportunistic takeovers of Indian companies, by stipulating that all such proposals from bordering nations would require government clearance.

The share of manufacturing in India’s GDP will be increased to $1 trillion or more than double from the existing $0.39 trillion.

“The trade and economic fundamentals will be made stronger before a clamp down on imports,” the official said.