India engineering exporters fear getting caught in the crossfire of a trade war between the US and China, two of the fastest growing markets for Indian engineering products.
“Our stakes are quite high amid the unfolding global trade tensions between the US and China. We don’t want to be caught in crossfire,” Ravi Sehgal, chairman of India's Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC), the largest exporting industry representative body in India, said in a statement.
Mr. Sehgal said that the US imposition of tariffs on imported steel and aluminum and its filing of complaints against India before the WTO as regards various export promotional incentives offered by the Indian government to exports will prove to be a challenge to maintain the high growth in engineering exports to the US.
According to the EEPC, engineering product exports to the US had recorded a growth of 47 percent year on year during the April 2017-February 2018 period, while Indian engineering product shipments to China had increased by 76 percent during the same period, making these two of the largest markets for Indian engineering industry exports.
Indian engineering product exports to the US, largely including iron and steel products, industrial machinery and automobiles and automobile components, in the April 2017-February 2018 period are estimated at a value of $21 billion, up from $6.25 billion in corresponding period one year earlier.