How to Tap into the American Handicraft Market as an Indian Exporter? (Foreign Trade Laws of America)
Indians from the time of the pre-independent era have been the flag-bearers of handicrafts all over the world. The aristocrats of England paid a high price for handicrafts when they were imported from colonized India. Handicrafts display the rich art and craft of the artisans and also represent the culture and tradition of the place or the society in which it is produced or manufactured.Â
The rich design and crafts of varieties of handicrafts attract people across the globe. Most of the handicrafts made in India are eco-friendly, made from naturally occurring substances. This fact also adds to the many qualities of the product. Indian handicrafts have huge demand all over the globe. However, the United States tops the list with the highest percentage of imports of Indian handicrafts.Â
We all are aware of the fact that the United States is one of the most developed countries all over the world. If we observe the trend, the American dollar’s value is rising with each passing year. Thus, it is very profitable for us to earn in American dollars. In this article, we will understand the different ways through which we can tap into the American handicraft market as an Indian exporter. Follow this complete guide to learn about the American foreign laws relating to handicrafts.
High Demand for Indian Handicrafts in the American Market
Indian handicrafts are in huge demand in the United States. The export of these crafts has been growing consistently at a staggering rate of 15% annually. Owing to the global Coronavirus pandemic, these numbers might have fallen a bit. But, it is expected that these numbers will bounce back and show immense growth.
America leads in the area of imports for different categories of handicrafts of India. These categories include woodwares, imitation jewelry, embroidered and crocheted goods, hand-printed textiles, art metal wares, and so on. Since America is considered to be a developed country, the per capita income of people of America is high as compared to the per capita income of people of other countries. Thus, people of the country of America have high disposable income with which they are ready to spend on these unique products.Â
How Can an Indian Exporter Tap into the American Handicraft Market?
According to recent studies, the market for Indian handicrafts is going to increase exponentially in the coming years and the United States will play a vital role in its growth. Indian exporters who can find a way to tap into the American market for handicrafts will earn a lot of profits. Let us dive deep and understand how this feat can be achieved by the handicraft exporters of India.
1. Creating an Online Presence
Bill Gates once quoted, ‘If your business is not on the internet, then your business will be out of business. The twenty-first century is the age of the internet and technology. Thus, it is the duty of each and every person to take the benefit of it. The global pandemic had brought almost all the trading activities of the world to a halt. Cases of coronavirus disease have started to grow once again. Thus, it has become imperative that we use the internet as a platform to grow our business. Indian exporters of handicrafts can create their own website and sell their handcrafts on it. They can add products according to their convenience and design their website as one which cannot be mirrored. Exporters can decide and choose from a variety of web development options as per their needs.
2. Display Your Products by Taking Help of Social Media
Today, social media has expanded the horizons of opportunities for almost every exporter and businessman. Social media platforms like Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram, etc are used to promote and sell products worldwide. They have broken the barriers of boundaries that existed earlier. Now, a handicraft exporter of some remote area of Gujarat can sell his handicrafts easily to a person residing in Seattle or California. You should leverage all the opportunities by taking the help of these platforms. Proper strategies should be adopted to carry out activities like micro-blogging, video-making, etc. Many Indian exporters of handicrafts during the period of lockdown have tapped into international markets like America and generated revenues of almost seven figures.Â
3. Learn and Understand About the Demand of the American Market
A key rule of exporting that should be kept in mind by the exporters is to produce what your customers want. India exports around 28% of the handicrafts to America. In the categories of handicrafts, woodwares are in most demand. Art metal wares, imitation jewelry, and embroidered and crocheted goods are also in high demand in the north-eastern region of America. People residing in those regions have high incomes at their end. Thus, authenticity and quality are what they demand from the exporters of Indian handicrafts.Â
4. Be Unique
It is very important that your website has a deep-seated uniqueness that helps to attract customers. The handicraft products that you display on your website should thus have genuine photographs of the products. You can hire freelance photographers to work for you so that they click the best pictures and showcase the exquisiteness of your products. Many Instagram and Facebook handles are managed by exporters of Indian handicrafts that are able to attract a huge number of followers from across the various countries like the USA, UK, UAE, Germany, and so on who order products in bulk from the exporters.
5. Taking Help of Third-Party Marketplaces like Craftezy
With the benefits that come along with owning a website, there come various disadvantages too. Initially, it is very tough for Indian exporters to get a global presence especially from countries like the US. Here is where third-party marketplaces like Craftezy, Amazon, etc can help the exporters of handicrafts. These trading platforms help in increasing the visibility of your handicraft products. You can list your products on their platform and start selling. List your handicraft products on these third-party marketplaces and discover the benefits that they can accrue. If you supply premium quality products and list it on their website, your revenue numbers can shoot up staggeringly.Â
American Laws Relating to the Import of Handicrafts
- As such there are no restrictions or barriers on the trade of handicrafts from foreign countries in the country of America. However, there are few countries that have been banned for the purposes of trade in America. These countries include Iran, Libya, Iraq, Sudan, North Korea, etc.
- The government of the United States of America monitors imports from different countries of the world. The agreement countries and the non-agreement countries have different sets of rules that are looked after by the government. Along with monitoring the imports from these countries, the government also looks after the domestic performance of the handicraft industry to find out about any type of market disruptions.
- The handicraft trade is carried out on the basis of Open Account terms. Payment terms usually vary from 30-60 days normally.
- Under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States of America, custom duty is levied. Customs duties are levied in accordance with the classification of the goods provided in this schedule.Â
- Let us now go through the average tariff rates for handicraft products.
Woodwares: Free
Hand-printed textiles: 10.5%
Art metal wares: 0.5%
Scarves: 6.63%
Shawls as artwares: 6.7%
Imitation Jewelry: 0.18%
Hand knitted and Embroidered goods: 10.69%
Zari and zari goods: 8.1%
Miscellaneous handicrafts: 1.98%
[Source: United States International Trade Commission ]
- Trade agreements like the World Trade Organization (WTO), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have helped in increasing the global trade of handicrafts over the past ten years.Â
Why Should You Choose Craftezy?
Craftezy is a trading platform specially curated for the purposes of buying and selling Indian handicrafts. It helps authentic sellers and exporters like you provide a gigantic platform where you get increased visibility which helps in attracting global customers to your premium quality handicrafts. An interesting thing to know about the platform is that you can register yourself as a seller free of cost. Listing your products becomes very easy since the product support team of Craftezy is always available for you to provide assistance at each step. The platform provides you with convenient, easy, and simple payment methods which include escrow services, bank transfer, credit card payments, and payment gateways. Increase your revenue and business growth manifold by taking the help of Craftezy- all at a reasonable cost.
