Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal directed manufacturers and exporters to share data on the costs borne on the products they export, during an interactive session with export promotion bodies on Wednesday.

As India looks to boost exports in the wake China’s ongoing trade war with the United States, the government aims to make India’s products more competitive.

“Piyush Goyal urged manufacturers and exporters to come forward with data and details which directly and indirectly add to the cost of the products that are being exported like cess paid on coal, electricity and royalty paid on mines,” the Commerce Ministry said in a release after the meeting.

Goyal said the Centre is working on “making India’s export products competitive and simplifying rules and regulations for easy availability of export credit.”

He also urged the export-import community to flag issues regarding availability of land, labour, common effluent treatment plants, cluster development and logistics support required in ports, airports and customs.

The Federation of Indian Export Organisations said Goyal “assured the industry that while MEIS will be withdrawn, it will be replaced by WTO-compatible RoSCTL scheme, which is already operational for apparel and made ups.” It said that Goyal told export bodies the Centre is also reviewing “all” existing free trade agreements to assess their impact on exports as well as manufacturing.

“A section of the industry has opined that some of the conditions like requirements of local experience, are limiting their participation in the Chinese procurement process. Government of India has been engaging with the relevant Chinese government entities to ensure that Indian companies get market access for their products,” the Ministry said. India currently has an over $50 billion trade deficit with China and has so far focussed on gaining more market access there for its agricultural, dairy and pharmaceutical products.

Published On : 01-08-2019

Source : Indian Express