2 days Ago By Sangeetha G
Chennai, April 16 : The United Nation’s trade and development body has asked the United States to consider exempting Least Developed Countries from reciprocal tariffs which harm the countries without boosting US’ revenue collection. These include Bangladesh, Cambodia and Myanmar, which are India’s competitors in categories, including textiles. The contribution to the United States trade deficit from these countries is marginal.
Of them, 28 partners contribute less than 0.1 per cent of the total US deficit. However, imposing “reciprocal tariffs” on them will disproportionately affect their ability to export to the US market.
The current 90-day pause offers an important opportunity to reassess how these countries are treated under this policy framework. “This is a critical moment to consider exempting such countries from tariffs that offer little to no advantage for US trade policy while potentially causing serious economic harm abroad,” UNCTAD said. UNCTAD has included Myanmar, Bangladesh and Cambodia in the list.
These countries compete with India in exports of textiles, apparels, jute and agricultural products. An exemption from US tariffs will make Indian products less competitive in the Indian market..
