Small biz scrambles to cushion blow

US President Donald Trump's additional 25% tariff on Indian imports took effect Wednesday, raising duties on some shipments to as much as 50% - among the highest imposed by Washington and on par with Brazil and China

- REUTERS

Tens of thousands of Indian small businesses are scrambling to find new buyers in markets across Europe, Africa and Asia to dull the impact of a 50% tariff on exports to the US that took effect Wednesday.

Firms also front-loaded shipments earlier in August ahead of the August 27 deadline, sending out existing orders before tariffs were doubled from the 25% import tax imposed by US President Donald Trump in July.

Over 50,000 exporters among India's nearly 60 million small enterprises, spanning sectors including textiles, jewelry and chemicals, face the tariff spike but the government has yet to announce any financial or credit support for those affected.

It has instead urged exporters to find alternative markets.

A survey of export-oriented businesses conducted by India SME Forum, a lobby group of nearly 100,000 small businesses, found that 57% of respondents were looking at using countries in the Gulf region, Latin America, Africa and Britain to reroute shipments or value-added transshipments.

The point would be to identify markets where shipped products could be modified or re-manufactured to obtain a new "country of origin" tag and then export on to the US market.