The U.S. government has decided to withdraw trade concessions granted to India under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP). The programme, which allows duty-free entry for certain products into the U.S. market, has benefited both countries, as shown by the growing volume of trade over the years.
India exported goods worth $6.2 bn in 2018 under the GSP, the highest since 1997. However, the GSP’s share in India’s total exports to the U.S. has come down recently after peaking in the mid-2000s.
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No other country’s export value under the GSP exceeded India’s in the last two decades cumulatively. The graph shows the export value for the top nine countries under the GSP between 1999 and 2008, and 2009 and 2018.
Though India has played down the GSP benefits, some sectors such as ‘gem and jewellery’ and ‘apparel’ are bound to take a hit. The tree map shows the top 25 sectors based on the cumulative export value of goods in the last 20 years under the GSP programme.
