Exporters have also stated that the imposition of customs duties by the US on imports from China provides huge export opportunities for India to America. The tariffs would affect exports from China to the US as they would push up prices of Chinese goods in the American market, making them less competitive.

China’s tariff increases and other countermeasures were mostly symbolic and apparently designed to project strength while leaving the door open to talks.

Hours before higher US tariffs go into effect, the timeline of China’s countermeasures during Donald Trump’s first trade war still offers the best clues to what happens next.