Why India is Missing Out on Trade and How to Fix It: The Path to Becoming a Prosperous Nation
Dear audience,
Today, I want to talk to you about the importance of trade and how India is missing out on a great opportunity to become a prosperous nation.
Here are 20 bulletins to summarize my speech:
Trade is the key to prosperity, as it allows countries to specialize and serve demand from multiple countries’ populations.
India remains blinded by its huge domestic market, and its policymakers do not seem to believe India can become a great trading nation.
The latest trade policy released by the Indian government is a dry recitation of the laws and processes that regulate Indian trade, and it makes no real effort to engage with the policy issues at stake.
India’s approach to trade remains incoherent and contradictory.
Decision-making for trade is left to middle-level bureaucrats or chambers of commerce.
Geopolitics and trade policy have become intimately connected.
There is a possibility for India to become a reliable partner for the West as multinational companies look to reorient supply chains to reduce their dependence on China.
Little of that broader understanding spills over into the construction or implementation of trade policy in India.
India is not looking for ways to build trust with trading partners such as Japan.
The best India can offer are half-hearted incentives for manufacturers to shift their operations to India.
The Indian government is not convinced that India can be competitive with its peers.
Politicians in India fear greater economic integration.
The lack of confidence from the Indian government may prevent India from ever overtaking China.
China is using its current lead to entrench itself at the center of the supply chains that will define the next century.
China’s autocrats trust their people to flourish in an open world.
India’s democrats do not share a similar faith in their citizens.
India needs to focus on trade and create policies that will help the country become a great trading nation.
India should look for ways to build trust with its trading partners, such as Japan and the European Union.
India should focus on how to share the burdens of sourcing and supply to promote shared economic security.
India needs to have confidence in its citizens and trust that they can make things as well and as cheaply as its peers.
In conclusion, India needs to focus on trade to become a prosperous nation. The Indian government needs to create policies that will help the country become a reliable partner for the West and build trust with its trading partners. India needs to have confidence in its citizens and trust that they can make things as well and as cheaply as its peers.