The Apex trade association, FIEO on Tuesday said it has developed a strategy to improve India’s exports to America, aiming to take advantage of the opportunities that may arise as the US President-elect, Donald Trump, has threatened to impose higher tariffs on Chinese goods.
As part of its programme, the body has urged the government to provide financial assistance to Indian exporters to participate in exhibitions across the US, FIEO (Federation of Indian Export Organisations) Vice President Israr Ahmed told reporters here.
“We have identified five key sectors in this strategy – clothing, electronics, toys, shoes, and natural chemicals – as areas of focus to promote the growth of exports to the US market,” he said.
Ahmed emphasized the need for aggressive promotion and visibility in the US market, saying that more financial support would allow Indian exporters to showcase their products more effectively and tap into emerging opportunities created by trade fluctuations.
“Power is being built as large firms come to this country, we must increase our presence in the US, we are asking for financial support under the Market Access Initiatives (MAI) program to seize these opportunities. in the US for at least three years,” he said.
He also added that FIEO is also looking to collaborate with US organizations in these fields.
He said many garment companies are shifting their bases to India from Bangladesh due to political uncertainty there.
Regarding the biggest challenges for exporters, Ahmed said “fluidity”, and added that export funds, too, have decreased.
FIEO urged the government to relax the requirement to make payments to MSMEs within 45 days of purchasing goods and services, without extending the five-year interest rate scheme.
Further, he said that the FIEO is discussing with the commerce ministry the issue of documents (if the RoDTEP benefits to the exporter exceed Rs 1 crore) to deal with the case of non-taxation of domestic products through the RoDTEP scheme.
This step is important since anti-subsidy activities have been imposed on certain domestic units by the US and the European Union.
Trump has threatened to impose new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China if he takes office.
The US is India’s largest trading partner by 2023-24. India’s exports stood at $77.51 billion, while imports totaled $42.2 billion in the last financial year.
During the April-October period of the current fiscal year, exports to the United States increased by 6.31 percent to $47.24 billion, while imports increased by 2.46 percent to $26 billion.
Indian exporters may face higher tariffs on goods such as automobiles, textiles, and pharmaceuticals if the new US administration decides to pursue an ‘America First’ agenda, trade experts have pointed out.