India is emerging as a reliable alternate destination for manufacturers and supply chain diversification due to its large labor and consumer base, low operating costs, and linkages to important international markets. India is also appealing because of its strong economy, relative ease of doing business, and an increasing number of sectors open to foreign investment.
In a move to strengthen economic ties, the General Administration of Customs of China announced on July 14, 2025, that it would implement a zero-tariff policy for imports from 53 African countries that have established diplomatic relations with China. This policy grants duty-free access to a wide range of African products, including agricultural goods, minerals, textiles, and manufactured items.
Global schedule reliability, particularly in shipping, continued to improve in June 2025. A report by Sea-Intelligence indicated that schedule reliability reached its highest level since November 2023, with a 1.7 percentage point month-on-month increase to 58.7% in April. This improvement is a positive trend, but the new alliances were still in the process of being fully rolled out.