LAHORE, 18TH FEB 2020: While India is preparing itself to welcome Trump, America has removed India from the list of developing countries which is a big blow to their economy. The US has taken a bold and clear move to keep India under pressure during the visit of President Trump by excluding India from special preferences for a list of self-declared developing countries. This move by the US to take off India from the list of developing nations surely hampers chances of India reclaiming export benefits under Generalized system of Preferences (GSP). In India, concerns and voices are being raised against this move of US and the most vocal in it are of the former BJP ally Shiv Sena. Data from the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) office shows that India is the largest beneficiary nation under the GSP, with total benefits from tariff exemptions amounting to $260 million in 2018. According to the World Bank Data, the US removed India (and some other nations) from the list on account of it being a G-20 member. It held that India be regarded as a developed nation, ignoring the fact that India’s per capita Gross National Income (GNI) is way below … Continue reading A pressure move on India by Trump