‘MSMEs may end up losing market share, as costs will rise up’

A 25 per cent additional tariff on India, summing up to a total tariff of 50 per cent might be a huge setback and will impact chemicals, garments, jewellery, etc,” says Gautham R, Senior Manager – Global Air Freight, Head – Air Freight – India, WIZ. He adds, “Exporters see a challenging situation of losing the larger market share to the countries that have competitive tariffs, which can lead to the reduction in volumes from India to the US by 30-40% approx. if the situation prolongs. MSMEs who will not be able to absorb this sudden shift of cost increase would end up losing their traditional business, as the margins are already thin. We foresee that there may be a slight spike in air freight volumes for critical goods, as the additional 25% is applicable after 21 days, but the majority of the US buyers had kept the orders on hold for India. Airlines ex India would continue to experience the volatility in filling the belly space until we simultaneously find strong alternative markets by capitalizing on recent FTAs.”