G20 Summit Latest News: As India gears up for the mega G20 summit in National Capital New Delhi this weekend, a latest report says that US President Joe Biden is likely to discuss the laptop import ban with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to a Business Standard report, Biden may bring up the newly issued curbs on electronic items during the G20 Summit.
The ban, which will come into force from November 1st this year, has been a major concern for Washington. India has said that the main reason behind the ban of laptop imports is security reasons. The critical move is seen as an attempt by New Delhi to curtail the shipments of electronic products from China and South Korea in a bid to boost the domestic production.
Last month, on August 3, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade had issued a circular that banned imports of PCs, laptops, ultra-small form factor computers, tablets, and servers. The government had, however, exempted those electronic items meant for personal use. This means that after November 1st, if anyone orders a single PC or laptop or tablet for personal use via post, online shopping, that will be allowed. The import curb will also be not applicable on baggage rules.
Financial Express can’t independently verify this report. It should be noted that Washington has been consistently raising the issue with New Delhi ever since the import curbs were announced. Last month, Katherine Tai, the US trade representative, had raised the issue with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal during the G20 trade meeting. Major US PC makers such as Cisco, Dell and Apple have spoken about the international supply chain mechanism. The companies have highlighted the potential impact of India’s import curbs.
