Coincidentally, all the big PC-makers apart from Apple are participating in the government’s PLI plan directly or through contract manufacturers. Since over half the import shipments by value originate in China, PC-makers would be nudged by India’s import licensing to speed up their supply chain diversification. India has made progress in the export of mobile handsets after raising import tariffs and pushing local manufacturing. The argument was that cellphones were not part of the list of electronic items India had signed up to eliminate tariffs. A WTO resolution panel has found India in breach on that score, but China was not a party to the dispute.
Instead, Apple had to involve its Chinese vendors to help build its manufacturing base in India. PC-makers have had time to build their supply chains in India and may not need hand-holding by their Chinese suppliers. IT hardware imports constitute a small part of India’s trade with China, which will have little reason to object to heightened protection. India is also trying to sway the argument within the window that PC-makers have to finalise their China-plus-one strategy.
