How the US election could change the direction of trade winds for India
US Presidential election of 2024 is one the most watched political events of recent times especially as the outcome will have a huge impact on international trade.
In the past few decades, many American politicians have talked about attracting manufacturing investment and jobs back to the country after the manufacturing of goods consumed by Americans has spread across the globe and manufacturing jobs have dwindled in the USA. Countries that export substantially to the USA or have been the destination of manufacturing investment in the past three decades are likely to be targets of trade action in the near future. In any case, the countries with whom the USA runs a large trade deficit are on the radar of at least one potential aspirant to the White House. India is one of those countries.
The US happens to be the largest destination for Indian merchandise exports. In 2023-24, imports into India from the USA amounted to $42.2 billion, while exports from India were valued at $77.52 billion.
So what should Indian businesses exporting to or importing from the USA expect by way of trade measures in the near future?
In the past three decades, experts had started seeing Customs duties on import of goods as retrograde measures. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has worked towards reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers. Continued imposition of tariffs had become the preserve of less developed countries or countries that were on the path to development but were not rich enough. However, with tariffs back on the table from
