US-China trade war opportune time for India to attract large multinationals: Panagariya

27 Jun 2019 Evaluate

Eminent economist Arvind Panagariya has said that the heightening trade tensions between the United States (US) and China is a great time for India to begin attracting the large multinationals that are now looking for alternative locations. He strongly called for India to slash tariffs on imported motorcycles and automobiles through give and take negotiations with the US.

Panagariya has stated that as the large multinationals are coming out of China, so it is an opportune time for India to do whatever it will take to bring these multinationals to Indian shores. He also said that their wages have gone up and the trade war with the US has begun to close the access of the multinationals in the US market in a big way. He stressed that the US was asking India to open up its markets. He also said “It is a good thing for India. I would open it unilaterally, but here is an opportunity to actually negotiate with the US. Give them something and get something in return.”

Eminent economist further called for undertaking labour law and land acquisition reforms to make them more flexible to attract the multinationals.  He also emphasized that rather than using tariffs, India can use the exchange rate to its advantage. He also said “let the rupee depreciate a bit, it will open the door for your exporters, while it also compensates for the tariff liberalisation. This is exactly what we did in the 1990s.” He felt that this will help make Indian goods much more attractive and boost exports.


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