<b>Harsha Vardhana Singh</b>: India is an average low-tariff economy

Despite concessions, people in general think of India as a high-tariff economy

India is widely known as a country with high import tariffs.This view, however, is incorrect. Changing this view is important for several reasons, both within India and outside. But first, the facts.

World Trade Organisation (WTO) estimates of India’s applied most favoured nation (MFN) tariffs, that is tariffs applicable in general, are 13.4 per cent (simple average) and seven per cent (trade-weighted average). The World Bank reports that India’s 2012 applied average tariffs were 6.3 per cent, significantly higher than those for low-tariff economies. The corresponding estimates are 1.8 per cent for both Australia and Chile, and 1.6 per cent