The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is working on policy measures to discourage low-quality Chinese imports, which includes make up items, watches and cigarettes.

Share Market Live

NSE

The proposed curbs came up for discussion in a meeting where top officials from multiple ministries huddled up at the Prime Minister’s Office on Saturday to discuss the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative that seeks to boost self-reliance in Indian industry.

The meeting at the PMO took place in the backdrop of border tensions between India and China in several locations in Ladakh, where 20 Indian soldiers lost their life in a skirmish with Chinese People’s Liberation Army on June 15.

People aware of the development told CNBC-TV18 that top officials from the DPIIT, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Economic Affairs and the Department of Revenue were part of the meeting, which was overseen by senior functionaries of the Prime Minister’s Office.

The DPIIT has prepared a list of low-quality imports that are made in China which includes goods like cigarettes, tobacco-based items, paints and varnishes, printing ink, make up goods, shampoo, hair dyes, glass items as well as rear view mirrors. This list was shared with multiple Industry bodies like the CII, FICCI and ASSOCHAM on Saturday and feedback has been sought by Sunday along with suggestions on import curbs that can be imposed.

Meanwhile, in the meeting at the PMO, discussions revolved around tariff and non-tariff measures, including non-tariff barriers to promote Atmanirbhar Bharat mission. In the run up to the meeting at the PMO, the DPIIT and the Department of Revenue have been discussing customs duty hike on at least 300 items for some time.

Officials also discussed the implications of any tariff policy action on Indian Industry as many sectors import intermediates and raw material from the neighbouring nation.

In addition to the feedback on low-quality imports, the DPIIT has separately sought tariff line data from Indian industry on “cheap Imports” as well policy action that can be taken to tackle import surge. The feedback from India Inc. will be taken into account while finalising economic policy action against China.

As per the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) rules, a country is allowed to hike custom duties against a specific trading partner only under limited circumstances like protecting national security, environment as well as public health. On Saturday, such international rule-based trading norms were also part of the discussion.

India has already tightened public procurement rules which now give preference to companies with indigenous content in government contracts. Moreover, foreign direct investment (FDI) rules were tightened in April. The new rules make government oversight mandatory for Chinese investments in India.

First Published:Jun 21, 2020 3:53 PM IST