<p>India is considering a number of tariffs and non-tariff steps to cut imports of non-essential consumer and electronic goods, including from China, as trade imbalances concern policymakers, two government officials and an industry source said.</p>.<p>As many as 18 key government ministries, led by the federal trade ministry, met last week to firm up steps first aimed at cutting imports from China, which accounts for nearly a third of India's trade deficit, said the three sources who declined to be named.</p>.<p>India has been trying to reduce its trade deficit with China since 2020, when border tensions flared along a contested frontier, but with little success as the country is a key and cheap supplier of goods including active pharmaceutical ingredients, electrical equipment and several chemicals.</p>.<p>The trade gap with China widened 28% in April-December 2022 from the same period a year earlier, as India's domestic demand continued to support Chinese imports while COVID lockdowns in China crimped imports from India.</p>.<p>The government is considering ramping up investigations to weed out unfair practices on a "wide array" of imports, from China and elsewhere, one of the officials said, without specifying which goods or what the unfair practices were.</p>.<p>The industry source said that so far this year anti-dumping investigations have focussed on products such as printed circuit boards and a type of toughened glass imported from China.</p>.<p>If a trading partner were found to have engaged in unfair practices, it would be necessary to introduce safeguards such as the imposition of anti-dumping duties, the official said.</p>.<p>India's federal trade ministry and China's embassy in New Delhi did not immediately respond to requests for a comment.</p>.<p>India's overall merchandise exports fell 12% in December from a year earlier, while merchandise imports dropped 3%, widening the deficit by 13%, government data showed.</p>.<p>The officials said India would also intensify checks on imported goods to make sure they adhere to national quality standards, the two government officials added.</p>.<p>Reuters reported last week that the government could highlight the rising trade deficit as a major downside risk to the Indian economy in its Economic Survey going in to the new fiscal year from April 1, Reuters reported last week.</p>.<p>The government is also likely to detail some of the steps to tackle the issue in the Feb. 1 budget. </p>
<p>India is considering a number of tariffs and non-tariff steps to cut imports of non-essential consumer and electronic goods, including from China, as trade imbalances concern policymakers, two government officials and an industry source said.</p>.<p>As many as 18 key government ministries, led by the federal trade ministry, met last week to firm up steps first aimed at cutting imports from China, which accounts for nearly a third of India's trade deficit, said the three sources who declined to be named.</p>.<p>India has been trying to reduce its trade deficit with China since 2020, when border tensions flared along a contested frontier, but with little success as the country is a key and cheap supplier of goods including active pharmaceutical ingredients, electrical equipment and several chemicals.</p>.<p>The trade gap with China widened 28% in April-December 2022 from the same period a year earlier, as India's domestic demand continued to support Chinese imports while COVID lockdowns in China crimped imports from India.</p>.<p>The government is considering ramping up investigations to weed out unfair practices on a "wide array" of imports, from China and elsewhere, one of the officials said, without specifying which goods or what the unfair practices were.</p>.<p>The industry source said that so far this year anti-dumping investigations have focussed on products such as printed circuit boards and a type of toughened glass imported from China.</p>.<p>If a trading partner were found to have engaged in unfair practices, it would be necessary to introduce safeguards such as the imposition of anti-dumping duties, the official said.</p>.<p>India's federal trade ministry and China's embassy in New Delhi did not immediately respond to requests for a comment.</p>.<p>India's overall merchandise exports fell 12% in December from a year earlier, while merchandise imports dropped 3%, widening the deficit by 13%, government data showed.</p>.<p>The officials said India would also intensify checks on imported goods to make sure they adhere to national quality standards, the two government officials added.</p>.<p>Reuters reported last week that the government could highlight the rising trade deficit as a major downside risk to the Indian economy in its Economic Survey going in to the new fiscal year from April 1, Reuters reported last week.</p>.<p>The government is also likely to detail some of the steps to tackle the issue in the Feb. 1 budget. </p>