Chapter 272 Tariff Barriers
How did the domestic media and the public react to India's accession to the WTO?
Official newspapers are advocating, private tabloids are wailing, and the people are outraged and taking to the streets to protest!
Yes, almost on the day the news broke, the streets of Mumbai were filled with demonstrations from different groups.
Those people looked extremely angry, with men and women shouting slogans excitedly and waving their fists.
They were so angry that their necks and shoulders were stiff, as if someone had stolen their money.
If you listen carefully, you'll find that their demands are diverse.
Some oppose India's entry into the WTO, some threaten to increase tariffs, and some threaten the government not to open up. Wood, textiles, furniture, plastics, small appliances
The marchers were all workers from all walks of life, who viewed the WTO as a scourge.
Joining the WTO means that the Indian government must completely open its doors and abolish all previous unreasonable tariffs.
The 100% tariff on imported cars, the 60% tariff on electronic products, and the 113% tariff on alcoholic beverages will all be cut.
According to the latest WTO regulations, the normal level for member countries is to maintain an average tariff of 12.7%.
The average import tariff for India's manufacturing industry is 73%, much higher than that of its international peers.
This is of course done to protect local industries from the impact of overseas products, and high tariffs are barriers.
Now that we have suddenly joined the WTO, does that mean that the previous protective walls will be torn down?
India's domestic manufacturing industry is in a panic, no, all industries are in a panic.
Indians are arrogant and conceited, but those entrepreneurs and factory owners who are bosses are self-aware.
Their products are absolutely no match for imported ones. Apart from the price, they are far inferior in terms of quality, style and function.
What would happen if there were no high tariffs?
The Ford Taurus, which costs $30,000, will be reduced to $15,000, making it cheaper than the Tata commercial vehicles produced in India.
Imported color TVs that cost 20,000 to 30,000 rupees will gradually drop to around 10,000 rupees, a significant price reduction.
If imported goods are cheaper than domestic goods, which one will people choose?
There is no second answer to this question. Once they lose their price advantage, all local companies will be finished.
The factory owners could not sit still, so they urged their employees to take to the streets.
The economics are simple: without tariffs, imports will become cheaper, and no one will buy the local products they produce. Factories will close, and they will lose their jobs.
With their entire families' livelihoods at stake, the workers were naturally furious. They took to the streets, chanting slogans, and some even smashed and looted foreign brand stores.
Well, while smashing and looting, there will also be a wave of zero-yuan shopping.
Foreign stuff is pretty good, especially if it's free.
In short, the streets of Mumbai are now a mess, and even government buildings are surrounded.
Ron didn't expect things to change so quickly. There seemed to be no news before this.
The newspapers had discussed it, but everyone thought the negotiations would take several years.
Ron used to think that he should try his best to seize the domestic electrical appliance market while the country's doors were not fully opened.
Now, if there really were no tariffs, Sur Electric would also be significantly affected.
Damn, he hasn’t even had time to get his juicer and rice cooker started.
Just when Ron was about to go out to find out some information, a phone call suddenly came.
The Home Appliances Industry Association in Mumbai invited him to a meeting.
Come on, it seems everyone is very anxious.
The meeting was still held at the State Guesthouse. When Ron arrived, it was already crowded with factory owners of all sizes.
Ron was invited to the first row, and businessmen along the way stood up to greet him.
The brand of Soul TV is becoming more and more famous, and it is showing the aura of a giant in the electrical appliance industry.
The two seats next to him are none other than Dutt from Videocon and Chandani from Onida.
There are only three reputable electrical appliance retailers in Mumbai.
Dutt had a cold face, but Chandani greeted Ron with a smile.
Enemies always meet, everyone has their own thoughts.
In addition to industry leaders, the meeting was also chaired by Maharashtra's Commerce Minister Bhujbal.
The meeting place was noisy and there was no order at all, and no one cared about the Minister of Commerce's nonsense.
Many factory owners are eager to ask whether the government plans to cancel high tariffs.
If that were to happen, it would be tantamount to killing India's manufacturing industry.
Some even threatened that if Maharashtra did not take concrete measures, they would move their factories to Hyderabad, where state taxes would protect them.
Bujibal comforted everyone that the government would not sit idly by and that joining the WTO or not would not make much difference from before.
The factory owners refused to buy it and threatened that the protests would continue until the government made a commitment.
It wasn't until Commerce Minister Bhujbal assured that measures would be introduced within a week that everyone calmed down a little.
In fact, Ron was not very worried. He felt that the Indian government was not so stupid as to really open its borders completely.
People make money in India and spend it in India, and once they leave, they want to take it home. Do you think this is a joke?
After the tariffs were abolished, foreign capital came in and made money, but it also hit domestic manufacturing. No matter how incompetent New Delhi is, it will not sit idly by and watch this happen.
The fact is that populism is prevalent in India, foreign investment has never been welcomed, and there is no such thing as actively lowering tariffs.
The sudden joining of the WTO next month may involve negotiations between New Delhi and Western countries, and Ron is not clear about the specific details for the time being.
While the industry leaders in the front row were whispering, a quarrel suddenly broke out from the back.
Ron turned around and saw dozens of people in business suits in the back row pushing and shoving around a food cart.
They rushed to reach out, wanting to get free milk tea and ice cream from the waiter.
Some people cut in line and crowded to grab cups, causing cutlery to break and tables in the venue to be knocked over.
They pushed and cursed at each other, and finally started fighting. The ceramic cups of milk tea spilled out, and the ice cream was smeared all over everyone's heads and faces.
The security personnel on the scene were unable to stop the chaos, and it was even gradually spreading.
Ron was almost laughing out of anger. How could these idiots and half-baked people compete with imported goods?
Eat shit! A bunch of unpresentable idiots.
He stood up, not wanting to stay here any longer.
The Minister of Commerce and other big businessmen also stood up and took shelter, and some even stepped forward to shout loudly to stop the incident.
"Mr. Sur." Commerce Minister Bujibal smiled at him awkwardly in the corridor.
"What does New Delhi say? Are they really going to destroy India's manufacturing industry?" Ron asked.
"Of course not. Tariffs on autos and electronics remain unchanged for now."
"Then why didn't you issue a statement?"
"We are waiting for notification from New Delhi, but they are too busy to take care of themselves right now," Bhujbal gloated.
"Hmm?" Ron asked curiously.
"North Indian farmers have surrounded it because they are worried that importing agricultural products will destroy the agriculture industry in North India."
Well, after all, India still has the most farmers.
Even for the sake of votes, New Delhi has to take into account the farmers' feelings.
"In short, there is nothing to worry about. Those foreigners will never get the upper hand." Babgil vowed.
Officials like Babu Gill prefer local owners to foreign-owned enterprises.
Will the foreigners pay them bribes? Will they spend a lot of money to support politicians for years? Will the local poor support foreigners?
It is impossible. The patronage network only accepts Indians and outsiders are not trusted.
India has only just broken free from British rule for a few decades, and populism is prevalent. It will definitely not recognize a foreign master again.
Anyone who really does this will definitely be torn to pieces by a large mob.
Foreigners who come to India to do business usually don't resort to bribery. They are high and might think they are giving alms to the Indian government.
Babgil had encountered such foreigners before. They had no sense at all and were very annoying.
So both publicly and privately, he doesn't want to see foreign products impact local industries.
Without these bosses, who will give him money?
After figuring out what was going on, Ron left the State Guesthouse without stopping.
Even if India joins the WTO, tariffs will not be adjusted in a short period of time.
The probability is that it will be adjusted gradually over time, for example, it will be reduced to a certain level in the past few years, and finally to the normal international level before a certain year.
But India, as those who know it know it, is good at playing dirty. If it doesn't drag it out for ten or twenty years, it will be unworthy of its reputation.
Well, Sur Electric's pace of expansion needs to be accelerated, as the window of opportunity left by the dividends of the times is getting shorter and shorter.
"Ron."
Just as he returned to Soul Electric and was about to go in, a shout came from the door.
Anil instinctively put his hands on his waist;
Ron patted his shoulder, indicating that it was okay.
"Johnny?"
"Do you have time now?" He looked anxious and a little ashamed.
"What's up?"
"That's convenient. Let's go over there and talk for a few minutes?" Johnny tilted his head towards the corner of the street.
"Well, it's been a while since we last met."
Ron took him to the corner of the street, and Anil and the others dispersed alertly at various intersections.
When Johnny saw this scene, a hint of regret flashed in his eyes.
"Can you persuade Khaderbai?" He hesitated for a long time, but finally made up his mind to speak.
"Huh?" Ron was puzzled. "There's going to be a gang war here in Mumbai?"
The underworld of Mumbai has been very turbulent recently. It is said that a big boss of the Dawood gang has turned against Dawood.
The story begins with the bombing investigation report released by the Bombay Supreme Court. Everyone knows that most of the participants were herdsmen.
The night before the report was released, the whole city held its breath.
The herder gangs in Madanpur are sharpening their knives, the police are on high alert and the Shiv Sena government is also furious.
A war seemed inevitable, with each side turning its attention to the other.
As a result, due to the city's precarious situation, the Bombay Supreme Court suddenly stopped the release of the report.
Their excuse was that some details of the investigation were still unclear, but everyone knew that they were afraid that Mumbai would fall into riots again.
Despite this, under external pressure, several names in the report were still leaked.
As the culprit of this incident, the Daud Gang is naturally on the list.
As the story became more and more mysterious, a leader finally came out publicly to distance himself from Daoud.
The leader, a Hindu, formed his own gang, the Big Brother Gang, and vowed to eliminate all the herders involved in the bombings.
As a result, the two gangs started fighting, and recently both sides have been sending gunmen to kill each other's top leaders.
Ron had heard vaguely that the lower classes in Mumbai were in chaos again.
He thought Johnny came here for this matter. Khaderbai's identity was rather awkward. He was a herdsman but did not engage in violent business, so he was caught in the middle and it was difficult to reconcile.
“No, not a gang. He’s leaving Mumbai?”
"Where to?" Ron was stunned.
"Persian Gulf countries, go to war."
"What?" Ron was really shocked this time.
(End of this chapter)
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