Concerns are growing over a possible rise in Chinese imports into India, especially after the U.S. imposed reciprocal tariffs on several key trade partners, and India has scrutinised incoming shipments. According to a Business Standard report, the Department of Commerce has been holding multiple internal meetings, headed by Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal, to put together a detailed plan to address the situation.

A person familiar with the situation told the report that “the commerce department is alert. It had been closely monitoring the import situation even before the US announced its reciprocal tariffs on Wednesday. The US has been levying additional tariffs on Chinese goods.”

On April 2, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order introducing new reciprocal tariffs, adding extra import duties ranging from 10% to 50% on goods from several of America’s trading partners. A standard 10% tariff kicks in on April 5, while higher, country-specific duties will be applied starting April 9. China faces the most severe impact, with an additional 34% tariff bringing the total import duty on its goods to 54%.

In response, China retaliated on April 4 by introducing its own set of countermeasures. These include matching 34% tariffs on all U.S. imports and imposing export restrictions on certain rare earth materials, escalating tensions in the ongoing trade dispute between the two major economies. Beijing also sanctions around 30 U.S. organisations, mainly in the defence sector, adding to a growing list of American companies penalised in reaction to Trump's tariff policies.

China's finance ministry criticised the U.S. action, saying, "The US move is not in line with international trade rules, seriously undermines China's legitimate and lawful rights and interests, and is a typical unilateral bullying practice." Conversely, the U.S. President took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to claim that China is reacting out of fear. “China played it wrong; they panicked - the one thing they cannot afford to do!” he wrote on Friday.

As tensions grow in the ongoing trade conflict, there are rising concerns that China might redirect its exports, which could lead to a surge of goods in other markets and raise the risk of dumping. Experts have advised the government to consider taking a more “proactive” stance in response.

The commerce department has previously highlighted that India has strong anti-dumping protections, which the Directorate General of Trade Remedies enforce.

Data shared by the department and reported by Business Standard shows that between April and February of the 2024–25 financial year, India’s imports from China increased by 10.4%, reaching $103.7 billion. Meanwhile, exports to China fell by 15.7%, amounting to $12.7 billion during the same period compared to the previous year.