Govt working on measures to insulate exporters from Trump tariff: Official

The government is working on certain support measures for exporters in sectors like textiles and chemicals to insulate them from the impact of the Trump tariff, an official said on Monday.

US President Donald Trump has announced an additional 25 per cent import duty on Indian goods entering America from August 7. 

 

The official said that the commerce ministry has held meetings with several export sectors, including steel, food processing, engineering, marine, and agriculture, to understand issues they may face due to high tariffs.

Indian exporters from various sectors, including food, marine, and textiles, have sought financial assistance and affordable credit from the government to cope with the 25 per cent Trump tariff. 

 

Exporters are requesting the government to extend fiscal incentives such as interest subsidy and extension of RoDTEP scheme (Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products), RoSCTL (Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies), timely payment of dues, and a direct shipping line to the US.

The ministry is considering these demands, the official said, adding that the ministry will also engage with states to support the exporters. 

 

The sectors, which would be impacted by the high tax of the US, include textiles/ clothing, gems and jewellery, shrimp, leather and footwear, chemicals, and electrical and mechanical machinery.

Sectors such as certain textile items, chemicals and shrimp are at a more disadvantageous position because India's competitor nations, including Bangladesh (20 per cent), Vietnam (20 per cent) and Thailand (19 per cent), have lower duties, an exporter said. 

 

Another exporter said that the US is a major export destination for Indian shrimp. "Now the exporters should explore new markets such as the UK, China and Japan," the exporter added.

Electronics, including smartphone exports, are recording healthy growth in the US despite uncertainties.