Indian Tariffs Placing 'Needless" Burden on Toy Industry, Toy Association Says
Increases in Indian tariffs and a push by India to increase domestic manufacturing (see 2001270016) are hurting the toy industry, The Toy Association said March 3. The trade group said India recently issued its second duty increase on toys in two years, raising tariffs from 22% to 66% in February. The association said it is working with trade association partners in India, the European Union and elsewhere, and coordinating with the Trump administration to advocate against the tariff increases. But the effort is proving difficult due to India’s “Made in India” push driven by “a strained relationship between China and India and budgetary concerns,” the association said.
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Aside from imposing rising costs on exporters to India, the new tariffs could lead to a 100% increase on mean retail prices on toys already in the Indian marketplaces, placing the price burden on the consumer, the association said. The group also pointed to a strenuous quality control order recently introduced by India, which requires importers to pay for factory audits and requires all imported toys to bear a “standard mark” that certifies compliance with Indian standards.
Although The Toy Association said it “remains optimistic” that tariffs will be reduced as the U.S. and India work to “resolve trade differences” (see 2002210041), the measures are hampering traders in the short term. “It is frustrating to see how these international protectionist trade policies put a needless burden on toymakers with redundant testing, additional fees, and unnecessary conformity assessment steps,” Alan Kaufman, senior vice president of technical affairs at The Toy Association, said in a statement. “The Toy Association, along with its partners overseas, will continue to monitor these regulatory changes and educate the Indian government on the impact these actions have on the global toy economy.”