In light of the ongoing India-China faceoff, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said today that it is against a blanket ban on Chinese imports and that it is not feasible for India.
The association pointed out that India imports many strategic items from its neighbour, and that a blanket ban will do us more harm than good. FIEO also expressed fear of retaliatory action by China if goods of Chinese origin face additional inspection at Indian ports.
“FIEO is against a blanket ban on Chinese imports. It will not be good for India to ban on an emotional surge. Instead, there could be a cess on exports of raw material like cotton, spices, plastics and chemicals to China. if Beijing retaliates, then India is going to suffer more than China. Our economy will suffer if we ban Chinese products as there is a huge trade balance.”
~ Sharad Kumar Saraf, President, FIEO said during a virtual press conference.
The apex association emphasised that instead of taking an involuntary or impulsive reaction like a ban on Chinese imports, India should reduce the dependence on them by developing an ecosystem for manufacturing.
FIEO also said the country needs to inculcate a practice of supporting its business like China does and its recent ask of increasing incentives to exports from the government is not a dole.
“This is the minimum we need to sustain. We are not asking for any dole. These are reimbursements,” the FIEO President said.
According to reports, while there has been no official instruction on 100% checking of consignments coming from China, Chennai and some other ports have already begun closer scrutiny of Chinese imports.
Earlier this month, India rejected China’s demand to grant it a market economy status, which allowed the nation to impose steep anti-dumping duties on imports from China.
