India will try to independently cultivate export competitiveness without depending on the US generalised system of preferences (GSP) scheme, according to commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, who said India graciously accepts that development assistance offered by nations till now has ceased. He addressed media on June 6 for the first time after taking over. “It’s not something that any of the exporters raised as a matter of life and death. It has had an impact on some sectors, some places…1 per cent, 2 per cent…India is no more an underdeveloped or least developed country that we will look at that kind of support,” said Goyal. India will reorient itself to be competitive, he said. Easier availability of credit at cheaper rates to exporters will be resolved expeditiously and customs clearances will be made quicker by installing X-ray scanners at all major ports, he said. A new scheme to rebate state and central taxes and levies will be rolled out in three months and will be implemented in a phased manner for all sectors, the minister added. Goyal, chaired a joint meeting of the Board of Trade and Council of Trade Development & Promotion on June 6 and held interactions with state industry and agriculture ministers, industrialists, export promotion councils and representatives of the central economic and infrastructure ministries to boost exports and domestic manufacturing and to reduce trade deficit. Key decisions taken during the meetings include detailed examination of the top 50 tariff lines, which constitute 60 per cent of India’s imports, for possible ways to reduce import dependence and developing product-specific clusters for 50 sectors with high manufacturing potential, according to an official press release.
Source – FibreFashion.
