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India’s trade policy: Which way now?

Author

Listed:
  • Avigyan Sengupta

    (Jadavpur University)

  • Saikat Sinha Roy

    (Jadavpur University)

Abstract

This paper delineates the changes in India’s trade policy regime in the larger context of India’s changing development strategy. What started as protection during “planning for industrialization” in an economy with binding foreign exchange constraint in the 1950s evolved to a relatively open economy with lesser barriers to trade. The process of change in the trade sector has been sequential over a relatively long period of time, the process being complemented by wide-ranging policy shifts in other sectors of the economy. However, there is an evidence of rising market-driven entry barriers, which is often thought to impact the trade sector adversely. Along with this, the process of trade policy changes has been reversed with rise in tariff barriers across some sectors in the recent period, which is a cause for concern especially in the context of improving competitiveness of tradeables and growing integration of the domestic economy with the world economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Avigyan Sengupta & Saikat Sinha Roy, 2018. "India’s trade policy: Which way now?," DECISION: Official Journal of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Springer;Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, vol. 45(2), pages 129-145, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:decisn:v:45:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s40622-018-0186-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s40622-018-0186-8
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Trade liberalization; Protectionism; Tariff and non-tariff barriers; Trade costs; FDI policy; Exchange rate policies; State-level export promotion policies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations

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