The government plans to slap higher import duties on a wide range of items that are made in China but are routed into India from countries with whom New Delhi has free trade agreements, meaning they are available cheaply at the expense of local manufacturers.
The items range from soybean to auto-components, electronics to vegetable oil, leather goods to textile products.
New Delhi also plans to tighten its rules of origin to boost domestic production, senior commerce ministry officials said. They said many Chinese products are being rerouted from other countries taking advantage of India’s trade agreements with them.