BOLT FROM THE BLUE

Trade barriers block Indian engineering goods in the US, forcing exporters to new markets and risking job losses

- By M.G. ARUN Photograph by MANDAR DEODHAR

Inside their 10-acre plant in Khopoli, an industrial town some 70 km from Mumbai, rows of steel bars lie ready to be shipped.

Except that they may now have no takers. The Chadhas' company, Jyoti Steel Industries, the largest exporter in the small and medium engineering goods sector, is among the many reeling under the bruising might of Trump's tariffs.

Founded in 1973, Jyoti Steel manufactures carbon alloy bars and stainless steels across multiple grades. In the past decade, it had increased its exposure to the US to $10 million (Rs 88 crore), exporting round bars, angle bars and flat bars. Thanks to the draconian US tariffs, that exposure may now be reduced by half-to $5 million (Rs 44 crore). "The US follows the old metric system," says Pankaj. "All our dyes and tools are geared towards that. They can't be changed overnight."