Tariffs Fallout: Titan could Move Manufacturing out of India
August 14, 25
(IDEX Online) - Titan, India's biggest jewelry retailer, could move some of its manufacturing operations from India to a Gulf state, to avoid the 50 per cent tariffs imposed by the US last week.
Managing director C.K. Venkataraman said last week that it was considering the region "as a manufacturing base to export to the U.S."
In an interview with Reuters he said: "If the tariffs remain like what they are currently threatened to be, then any arbitrage on a tariff ... any significant arbitrage would be meaningful for us to consider."
His comments follow the announcement last month that the company was buying a two-thirds stake in Dubai-based luxury jeweler Damas, with a future option to acquire full ownership.
Dubai is already a major global diamond trading hub and could be an attractive option, with low taxation, no income tax and the advantage of a relatively modest 10 per cent US tariff.
Other diamond manufacturers could shift their manufacturing operations, and maybe even their staff, to Dubai.
Rerouting goods manufactured in India is not a viable option. The US says it won't allow it, and will impose an additional 40 per cent tariff on goods deemed to have been "transshipped to evade applicable duties".