A report by the UN trade and investment body (UNCTAD) reveals the ongoing trade war has resulted in trade diversion effects to the advantage of Taiwan, Mexico, the European Union, India, and Vietnam among others. India’s share, though minor, was still substantial at $755 million, said the report called "Trade and trade diversion effects of United States tariffs on China".
Taiwan was the largest beneficiary accounting for almost $4.2 billion in the first half of 2019. Mexico’s increase in exports to the United States due to tariffs on China are said to be about $3.5 billion, while that of the European Union was about $2.7 billion.
“United States tariffs on China are economically hurting both countries. United States losses are largely related to the higher prices for consumers, while China’s losses are related to significant export losses", reads the report.
Major exports from India included agricultural goods, chemicals, communication equipment, electrical machinery, furniture, metals and ore, office machinery, precision instruments, textiles and apparel, transport equipment and others totalling about $755 million.
The trade war began after Washington accused Beijing of killing 100,000 Americans a year with imported fentanyl, a narcotic drug used in medicine to relieve pain and stealing hundreds of billions' worth of intellectual property
As a result of the escalation in trade-related tensions, the US and China raised tariffs on about $50 billion worth of each other’s goods in early 2018. It further escalated, with Washington imposing an additional 10 percent on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports. China retaliated by imposing tariffs on imports from the US worth an additional $60 billion. Both countries imposed further tariffs through 2019.
