NEW DELHI – Amid conflict in West Asia, merchandise exports rose nearly 15% during the first two-and-a-half months of the current fiscal year, continuing the momentum seen during April.“So far, if we see April, May and 14 days of June. I have data till June 14, it (export growth) is 15%,” Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said during a meeting with chartered accountants in Mumbai. Supported by strong oil exports, in the wake of rising prices of crude oil and petroleum products, exports have witnessed strong growth and Goyal expects this to continue, driven by the trade agreements that have been signed.“The UK FTA will start from July 15. Wherever you work, whatever sector you are in, tell them how much benefit will come from these things.
Now with almost no tariffs, almost the entire European market will be open to us. The EU free trade agreement will be signed by December and will be in force by February-March. The agreement with Switzerland, Norway and others has already been in effect since October.The next step is a US trade deal, he said, with US Trade Representative Jameson Greer landing in the capital on Monday for talks on Tuesday and Wednesday in what is seen as a move to keep things ready.The additional 10% tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, after the US Supreme Court called previous “reciprocal tariffs” illegal, are set to expire next month, and an agreement is expected to help roll out the new tariffs, which will likely be based on Section 301 investigations launched by the US Trade Representative against India and a group of other countries.
During his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Goyal said that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney indicated his government’s keenness to conclude talks on a bilateral trade agreement this year, while Kenya expressed interest in a free trade agreement with India. The government is expected to soon begin talks with the South African Customs Union to reach a trade agreement, the first with Africa. Since entering FTA mode after not joining RCEP, the China-led trade bloc, the government has signed a range of agreements, mostly with developed countries.
