As Indian ports filter imports from China, United States’ companies’ products including Apple, Cisco, and Dell have also been held up at the port, as per the sources cited in the Reuters report.
Customs officers have held Chinese imports to seek additional clearances from the government. However, there has been no order issued as such from the Government of India, sources told Reuters.
The news comes as India witnesses border tensions with China, in which at least 20 Indian soldiers were killed.
The US.-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), a lobby group representing US firms, in a letter dated une 23 told India’s commerce ministry that lack of clarity and delays could disrupt business and manufacturing operations.
“Authorities have abruptly halted the clearance of industry consignments coming in from China (and perhaps other destinations) at most major ports and airports,” USISPF said in the letter, seen by Reuters.
“This will send a chilling signal to foreign investors who look for predictability and transparency,” it said.
Two industry sources said Apple, Cisco, Dell, and Ford Motor Co products were among those held up. Apart from this, products from Taiwan’s Foxconn have also been held back. However, the report did not reveal the name of the ports where the goods have been held.
Indian electronics and mobile industry group ICEA said its members had been told Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi Airports would launch a new examination procedure for all consignments coming from China.
Normally, goods for regular importers have cleared automatically, ICEA said in a letter to the finance ministry, urging it to intervene.
A letter from the Editor
Dear Readers,
The coronavirus crisis has changed the world completely in the last few months. All of us have been locked into our homes, economic activity has come to a near standstill. Everyone has been impacted.
Including your favourite business and financial newspaper. Our printing and distribution chains have been severely disrupted across the country, leaving readers without access to newspapers. Newspaper delivery agents have also been unable to service their customers because of multiple restrictions.
In these difficult times, we, at BusinessLine have been working continuously every day so that you are informed about all the developments – whether on the pandemic, on policy responses, or the impact on the world of business and finance. Our team has been working round the clock to keep track of developments so that you – the reader – gets accurate information and actionable insights so that you can protect your jobs, businesses, finances and investments.
We are trying our best to ensure the newspaper reaches your hands every day. We have also ensured that even if your paper is not delivered, you can access BusinessLine in the e-paper format – just as it appears in print. Our website and apps too, are updated every minute, so that you can access the information you want anywhere, anytime.
But all this comes at a heavy cost. As you are aware, the lockdowns have wiped out almost all our entire revenue stream. Sustaining our quality journalism has become extremely challenging. That we have managed so far is thanks to your support. I thank all our subscribers – print and digital – for your support.
I appeal to all or readers to help us navigate these challenging times and help sustain one of the truly independent and credible voices in the world of Indian journalism. Doing so is easy. You can help us enormously simply by subscribing to our digital or e-paper editions. We offer several affordable subscription plans for our website, which includes Portfolio, our investment advisory section that offers rich investment advice from our highly qualified, in-house Research Bureau, the only such team in the Indian newspaper industry.
A little help from you can make a huge difference to the cause of quality journalism!
Support Quality Journalism