Publication

This paper examines the impact of India’s Duty-Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) Scheme, which provides least developed countries (LDC) a duty-free and quota-free access to the country’s markets, by comparing LDC export trends before and after the scheme came into effect. The authors find that across all the countries party to the DFTP, exports to India were 62 percent higher following the launch of the scheme. However, they also find that LDC’s not part to the scheme have seen their exports to India grow at an even greater rate since the launch of the DFTP. Consequently, they suggest it is difficult to determine if the DFPT has been effective.