In light of the ongoing conflict in the Galwan Valley between India and China, the two prominent freight leaders DHL and FedEx have temporarily suspended the picking up of shipments from China that are bound for India.
As per reports, the import orders from the neighbouring country in recent times is facing delays in customs clearance of shipments and are causing congestions at the facilities due to the backlogs.
DHL confirmed its suspension of picking up shipments from China as first informed on 26th June. It said, “DHL Express India confirms it’s temporarily suspending pick up of import shipments from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau due to recent delays in customs clearance of shipments into India. We’re in close contact with our customers to keep them abreast of the development.”
FedEx also shared similar development via a statement released by the company. It said, “We’re currently facing backlogs beyond our control, leading to congestion at our facilities. We’ll continue to monitor the situation and will resume our normal operations as the circumstances allow.”
Due to the rise of anti-Chinese sentiments amid the border dispute between China and India, all the import shipments from the country are being subjected to 100% examinations leading to a pile up of Chinese consignments at facilities. It is also raising concerns of disruption of supply chains especially at the time when companies are reopening after the nationwide lockdown.
India, which is highly dependent on China for imports of goods, has already been taking steps to cut dependency from the country as a part of its self-reliance drive.
However, this could harm Indian business more. Union Minister for MSME, Nitin Gadkari says “Stopping imports from China will lead to losses for those who place orders prior the border clashes. Goods may take more than a month to arrive arrive in India and local businesses will suffer if goods remain stuck or are returned because they originated from China.”
The Narendra Modi-led government has already been encouraging the citizens to follow the logo of “Vocal for Local” and also taken to stringent economic measures against China. It has plans to impose higher tariff and is also discussing on increasing import duty on products. Earlier, this month the country also denied market status to China. And, in the recent event, it has banned the use 59 Chinese applications in the country.
Source: BloombergQuint
