Life after Biden as President elect, news by Hebei Longsheng metals and minerals
| The Indian government is keen to strike a trade deal with the U.S. under the incoming Biden administration. President-elect Biden’s aim to build relations with allies in the Indo-Pacific region is one reason to expect a deal. However, a deal won’t necessarily come soon or potentially at all. The Modi administration has been keen to maintain "Make in India" tariffs while Biden is committed to including labour and environmental commitments in new trade deals. From a technical perspective renewal of fast-track authority in the U.S. may not occur and be a stumbling block. Trade between the two countries has been lackluster. U.S. imports from India have increased by just 2.3% annually in the 12 months to Oct. 31 versus 2017, or 4.6% excluding precious metals / gems. The pandemic has taken a toll with imports of apparel / textiles down by 18.4% in the past 12 months year over year while autos imports fell by 24.4%. When comparing the proportion of India’s exports sent to the world ex-U.S. and to the U.S. the biggest gap is in energy which accounted for 14.9% of rest-of-world shipments and 5.0% of U.S.-bound shipments. A trade deal may not change that given growing U.S. energy independence. Steel provides another opportunity, representing 0.3% of exports to the U.S. versus 3.5% to the rest of the world. Reduced national security tariffs by the U.S. could help here without requiring a full trade deal. Organic chemicals are another area of potential expansion, representing 3.5% of shipments to the U.S. and 6.1% to the rest of the world. The largest exporter to the rest of the world was Reliance Industries with $1.87 billion of paraxylene and others in the 12 months to Sept. 30. Exporters of pharmaceutical APIs are in a similar position and Dr Reddy’s and Aurobindo with $228 million and $197 million shipped respectively. The Biden administration’s aim to onshore medical supplies will be a hurdle to a trade deal here, however. By Hebei Longsheng Metals & Minerals Co,. Ltd. |
