‘Against Chinese Imports’: Union Minister Gadkari

However, he wrote to the FM and CM, urging that imports already paid for must not be held back at Indian ports.

“I have written a letter to FM Nirmala Sitharaman and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal apprising them of this issue.”

(Photo: The Quint)

In an exclusive conversation with The Quint’s Editorial Director Sanjay Pugalia, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that he is against Chinese imports.

However, in a letter to the finance minister and commerce minister, Gadkari has urged that Chinese imports which have been paid for must not be held back at Indian ports.

“I have written a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal apprising them of this issue. If we stop consignment at Indian ports, it will only impact Indian businessmen. So, if we want to stop imports from China then we should increase the duty. There are some constraints but we will resolve this issue,” he said.

The comment comes in the backdrop of the India-China border standoff, because of which consignments are reportedly stuck at various ports in the country.

Gadkari also added that we should discourage imports and encourage exports to boost the economy because that will help in creating new employment opportunities and also increase the GDP of the country.

Watch the full interview above.