India’s share in global trade improving, says Minister
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal says exports and imports are showing positive trends following a sharp dip in April due to pandemic.
The exports are approaching levels seen last year while imports of Capital Goods have not declined, an indication of growing economic activities, he told Office-bearers of various Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) on 4 Sept 2020.
Mostly, the cut in imports have been in crude, gold and fertilizers, he said during discussions on issues concerning the country’s global trade, ground-level situation, and problems being faced by the exporters.
“The trade deficit is reducing drastically and our share in the global trade is improving, thanks to our resilient supply chains, and perseverance and hard work of our exporters.”
“We are trying to generate more reliable and better trade data for better planning and frame policies accordingly,” assured the Minister.
Twenty-four focus manufacturing sectors have been identified which have the potential to expand, scale-up operations, improve quality, and lead enhancement of Indian share in global trade and value chain, he informed.
“These sectors have the capacity to do import substitution and push exports,” said Goyal, adding that India is being seen in the world as a trusted and resilient partner in the global value chain.
On the issue of recent changes in the Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS), the Minister said that the capping of Rs.2 crore will not affect 98% of the exporters who claim benefit under the scheme.
The Government has already announced the Remission of Duties or Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) scheme for exporters to take the place of MEIS, and a Committee has also been set up to determine the ceiling rates under the RoDTEP scheme.
“This new scheme would reimburse the embedded taxes and duties already incurred by exporters,” he assured.
After listening to the challenges, experiences and suggestions of the EPC office-bearers, he acknowledged that the macro-numbers sometimes do not make one realize the difficulties being faced by the exporters.
Goyal acknowledged that certain sectors, which are primarily dependent on discretionary spending, are under severe stress.
But he promised to help the exporters as much as possible, and also take up such issues, which fall outside the ambit of the Commerce and Industry Ministry, with concerned departments.
The Minister also disclosed that the Special Economic Zone issues are being taken up with the Finance Ministry, and called upon the exporters to engage with the Steering Committee set up to promote Indian manufacturing. #exports #imports #trade #investment #manufacturing /fiinews.com
