CAT 2025 Slot 1 · DILR · Set 4: Import Tariffs Among Five Countries

Japan's exports to India are the same thing as India's imports from Japan.

The tariff India collects on those imports is the tariff percentage multiplied by their value.

Rearranged, the trade value is the tariff collected divided by the tariff percentage.

From the radar chart, India charges Japan a tariff of 50%.

From the bar chart, the tariff India collected from Japan is 3.5 billion USD.

So the value is \frac{3.5}{0.50}=7.0 billion USD, which is the first option.

Shortcut. Every question in this set is the same single division, so the only real work is reading the right pair off the two charts. A 50% rate simply doubles the tariff figure.

Each option is a trade value, so convert each one using value = tariff ÷ percentage.

Imports by US from France use the tariff the US charges France: 6 billion at 20%, giving \frac{6}{0.20}=30 billion.

Exports by France to Japan are Japan's imports from France, so use Japan's tariff on France: 3 billion at 20%, giving \frac{3}{0.20}=15 billion.

Exports by Japan to UK are the UK's imports from Japan, so use the UK's tariff on Japan: 6 billion at 40%, giving \frac{6}{0.40}=15 billion.

Imports by France from India use France's tariff on India: 6.5 billion at 50%, giving \frac{6.5}{0.50}=13 billion.

The largest is 30 billion, so the answer is the first option.

Shortcut. Exports from X to Y always have to be read through Y's tariff on X, never X's own — getting that direction right is most of the battle. A low percentage on a decent tariff is what makes a big trade value, which points at the 20% entries first.

The trade surplus of India with the UK is India's exports to the UK minus India's imports from the UK.

India's exports to the UK are the UK's imports from India, so read the UK's tariff on India.

That is 3 billion at 30%, giving \frac{3}{0.30}=10 billion.

India's imports from the UK come from India's own tariff on the UK.

That is 5 billion at 20%, giving \frac{5}{0.20}=25 billion.

The balance is 10-25=-15 billion USD.

A negative surplus is a deficit, so India runs a deficit of 15.0 billion USD with the UK — the first option.

Shortcut. The two directions of a single trading pair use the two different countries' tariffs, so each pair gives two readings. Here the UK's low 20% rate on a 5 billion tariff is what makes India's imports so much larger.

Take France first.

France's exports to the US are the US's imports from France, read through the US tariff on France: 6 billion at 20%, giving 30 billion.

France's imports from the US come from France's tariff on the US: 5.5 billion at 30%, giving \frac{5.5}{0.30}\approx 18.33 billion.

France therefore runs a surplus of about 30-18.33=11.67 billion.

Now the UK.

The UK's exports to the US are the US's imports from the UK, read through the US tariff on the UK: 3 billion at 30%, giving 10 billion.

The UK's imports from the US come from the UK's tariff on the US: 2.5 billion at 20%, giving 12.5 billion.

The UK therefore runs a deficit of 2.5 billion.

Only France has a surplus with the US, so the answer is the fourth option.

Shortcut. A country runs a surplus with the US when the US's tariff collection on it, divided by the US rate, beats its own collection divided by its own rate. France's 30 billion against 18 billion is a clear gap, while the UK's two figures sit close together — so only the UK needs careful arithmetic.