All India traders’ body launches campaign to boycott Chinese goods

DHARAMSALA, 11 June: Indian traders’ body, Confederation of All-India Traders (CAIT), has “launched a campaign to boycott Chinese goods with an aim to reduce India’s imports of products manufactured in the country by USD 13 billion by December 2021.” 

The CAIT has prepared a list of 3,000 items which are currently imported from China and easily replaceable by Indian manufactured goods, reports the PTI.

The move by the leading advocate for small traders and businesses in India, with around 6 crore merchants across 40000 trade associates has launched the on Wednesday as border tensions between India and China continue to simmer. 

“The campaign titled ‘Indian Goods – Our Pride’ aims to achieve a reduction in imports of Chinese manufactured goods by Rs 1 lakh crore (about USD 13 billion) by December 2021,” the CAIT was quoted as saying in the report.

CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal has stated in the report that “there are four types of imports from China to India — finished goods, raw materials, spare parts and technology products.”

The campaign “has decided to boycott imports of finished goods from China.”

As it stands, India is the biggest importer of Chinese consumer goods. India imports almost seven times more from China than it exports to it. 

India has a huge trade deficit with China – its largest with any country- that amounts to $53.6 billion.

In 2018-19, India’s exports to China were mere $16.7 billion, while imports were $70.3 billion.