The US recently presented constructive support for the QUAD, a comprehensive strategic group, by passing a bill in the House aimed at ensuring continuous support and fostering all-weather connectivity through supply chain diversification.
What is QUAD?
QUAD is a group of the world’s most influential countries including the USA, India, Japan, and Australia. Initially, it was formed in 2007, aiming to promote economic growth and stability in the region and beyond the continents to increase seamless connectivity.
To understand the economic power of the QUAD countries and how it can drastically change the international market for export business, one needs to delve deeper into the trade insight. From the given table, you may find US exports to the world are more than a trillion USD and continuously increasing except for the marginal downfall in 2020, the year of COVID-19. On the other hand, Japan is the only country in the QUAD whose trade in the international market has witnessed a downward trend since 2019, except for the years 2020 and 2021.
| Year | USA | Japan | India | Australia |
| 2019 | 1642 | 705 | 323 | 272 |
| 2020 | 1424 | 640 | 275 | 254 |
| 2021 | 1754 | 757 | 394 | 345 |
| 2022 | 2062 | 752 | 452 | 402 |
| 2023 till Oct | 1685 | 591 | 359 | 308 |
India’s Total Trade with QUAD Members
Among the QUAD members, India shares a strategic position for strengthening collaboration and seamless connectivity to ensure the free flow of goods across the continent. India has a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with all the members of QUAD or is in the final stage of implementation. These agreements will foster the growth of the Indian economy and opens the door for a new market exploration to diversify the supply chain.
Look at the table for a better understanding of India’s total trade with the QUAD members, goods exported to the USA have increased from USD 49 billion in 2020 to USD 80 billion in 2022, and with Australia it increased from USD 3.4 billion to USD 8.2 billion in the same year. However, trade with Japan decreased to USD 5.6 billion in 2022 from USD 6 billion in 2021.
| Year | USA | Australia | Japan |
| 2020 | 49 | 3.4 | 4.0 |
| 2021 | 71 | 6.9 | 6.0 |
| 2022 | 80 | 8.2 | 5.6 |
| 2023 Till Q3 | 57 | 6.2 | 3.7 |
How does QUAD Affect China’s Export Market?
China’s businesses and entrepreneurs have begun diversifying their supply chains since the US House passed a bill to strengthen QUAD connectivity for trade and collaboration across the continent. Once the framework on QUAD is completed then China’s export market may lose commodities worth billions of dollars from the major trading partners.
Go thoroughly through the table to understand what amount of goods exported by China to the QUAD members. China’s exports to the USA from 2020 to 2022 increased even during the pandemic time, this trend follows not only with the USA but also with all members of QUAD. And for India, in terms of percentage, the total amount of trade almost doubled from USD 66 billion in 2020 to USD 118 billion in 2022.
| Year | USA | Japan | India | Australia |
| 2020 | 452 | 142 | 66 | 53 |
| 2021 | 577 | 165 | 97 | 66 |
| 2022 | 582 | 172 | 118 | 78 |
| 2023Till Q3 | 372 | 118 | 87 | 54 |
China’s Total Export to The World
The rise of QUAD as a new emerging platform increases the trust for sustainability for business and the seamless connectivity to ensure the free flow of goods across the continents. And this increasing popularity may sideline China’s export in the world. Let’s understand how China’s export market dominates the world.
China is among the few countries in the world whose exports to the world are more than their imports. Exports from 2019 to 2022 increased to USD 3593 billion from USD 2498 billion, on the other hand, imports from the world slowed down in 2020 with a marginal gap. China’s highest exports to the world were in 2022 with USD 3593 billion.
| Year | Imports | Exports |
| 2019 | 2066 | 2498 |
| 2020 | 2057 | 2588 |
| 2021 | 2675 | 3361 |
| 2022 | 2715 | 3593 |
| 2023 Till Nov | 2331 | 3087 |
Challenges for China as QUAD Strengthens Ties
- Stricter trade regulations and standards adopted by QUAD members.
- Diversifying the supply chain from China to other countries.
- Infrastructure and development projects may sideline China’s BRI project.
- Trade partnerships may away business from China.
How Indian Economy Benefit from Overall Development?
- Access to the advanced technology of Western countries will boost India’s innovation and industrial capabilities.
- Enhanced India’s maritime trade by enhancing maritime security.
- Strengthening ties help India for better negotiation and favourable market access for its economy.
For all-weather connectivity of the supply chain with ease of logistics, it becomes important for both the government and businesses to work collaboratively and respect the mutual interest of each other for fostering future growth and revenue generation.
