Commerce Ministry

With India's trade pacts set to provide preferential access to its goods and services in countries with a combined GDP of USD 85 trillion in the coming years, the industry should look beyond the huge domestic market and step out of its comfort zone to expand globally, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday. He said that before 2014, India had implemented free trade agreements (FTAs) with countries having an aggregate GDP of USD 10 trillion. In the last four and a half years, the government has entered into nine trade pacts which covered 38 developed countries, having a GDP of USD 60 trillion. India is now negotiating seven to eight more agreements, which will add another USD 15 trillion, where India will get preferential access for its goods and services, the commerce and industry minister said at the 4th Edition Festival of Ideas here. Together, all these trade agreements cover markets accounting for about 76 per cent of global GDP, or "USD 85 trillion out of the world's total

A sharp rebound in coal, higher iron ore output and strong refinery growth lifted core sector expansion to 7.9% in September, even as three of the nine industries contracted.

India and the US are finalising the legal text of the first tranche of their trade deal, with New Delhi seeking a competitive tariff advantage before operationalising the agreement

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal says India's export target is achievable despite subdued global trade growth, citing strong domestic businesses, MSMEs and new FTAs

The new free trade agreements (FTAs) finalised by India in the last 5-6 years have been designed to provide comfort to long-term investors looking to invest in global supply chains in India, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal said on Thursday. These pacts also provide investors access to USD 60 trillion market sitting back in India. "The new FTAs, the modern FTAs that we have seen over the last five-six years, all of these are designed in a manner where it gives comfort to long-term investors to invest in a global supply chain in India," Agarwal said here at a PAFI (Public Affairs Forum of India) event. He added that predictability drives investments and the FTAs provide tariff predictability. "....you are living in the world of global value chains and investments need predictability in terms of flow of goods also, because I need to import something from a region, I need to import the second thing from some other region, I need to add here and send it to maybe fourth region. "Do I

The Commerce Ministry's arm DGTR has recommended a five-year extension of anti-dumping duty on aluminium foil imported from China, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, according to a notification. The Finance Ministry will take the final decision on the matter. The duty recommended by the Directorate General for Trade Remedies (DGTR) on 'Aluminium foil 80 micron and below' ranges between USD 93.53 per tonne and USD 976.99 per tonne. "The authority, after examining submissions made by all interested parties in the present investigation, considers it appropriate and necessary to recommend continuation of definitive duties...for a period of five years," the DGTR has said in a notification. The application for initiation of sunset review investigation was filed by Hindalco Industries, LSKB Aluminium Foils, Raviraj Foils, Shree Venkateshwara Electrocast, Shyam Sel and Power Ltd, and SRF Altech Ltd. The notification added that dumped imports have impacted the profitability of the domestic

Commerce Department has asked the expenditure department to raise the export incentive scheme's FY27 allocation to Rs 23,000 crore from the budgeted Rs 10,000 crore

The commerce ministry sought ₹23,000 crore ($2.40 billion) from ​the finance ministry under the programme ‌for 2026/27

The commerce ministry has decided to set up a central processing department in the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) to implement a faceless trade facilitation system, a move aimed at promoting ease of doing business for exporters and importers. According to an office memorandum of the DGFT, the Central Processing Department (CPD) will act as a central unit for processing of trade-related applications. It will be located at the central licensing area in Delhi. "The system is proposed to be dedicated to the nation during the second fortnight of October 2026," it said. The faceless trade facilitation is a key initiative of of the government which is aimed at enabling faceless, paperless and jurisdiction-free processing of trade-related applications. It would help reduce processing time, enhance transparency and improve ease of doing business for exporters and importers. As many as 53 DGFT officers from Delhi and regional centres have been posted or transferred to the ...

The Commerce Ministry will meet with industry associations and representatives of export promotion councils on September 1 on India-US trade performance, an official said. The meeting will be chaired by Additional Secretary in the ministry Darpan Jain. He is also the country's chief negotiator for the India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA). The deliberation is important as Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will visit the US in late September to attend the G-20 Trade Ministerial in Milwaukee and hold bilateral talks with USTR Jamieson Greer. The two-day ministerial will begin on September 30. The United States holds the 2026 G20 presidency. The official said the meeting is intended to discuss recent trade trends, the overall sector-wise performance of India-US trade, and the recent developments in bilateral trade. Sectors expected to be represented at the meeting include pharmaceuticals, engineering, textiles, agriculture, chemicals, marine products, leather, automobiles

Apparel exporters on Saturday urged Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to consider steps to regulate cotton yarn exports to contain rising prices of the yarn as it is hurting competitiveness of the industry. Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman A Sakthivel in a communication to the minister said rising prices of raw cotton and cotton yarn are increasing due to supply-side constraints. The limited stock availability with ginners and reduced arrivals have resulted in mills relying increasingly on CCI (Cotton Corporation of India) auctions. He said substantial quantity of cotton has moved from farmers to traders, contributing to hoarding and speculative practices in the market. "AEPC has urged the minister to consider suitable measures to regulate the export of cotton yarn, particularly 20s count and above, in view of the sharp increase in yarn prices and the growing pressure on the competitiveness of India's apparel export industry," Sakthivel said. Cotton yarn prices have .

India is enhancing its focus on South America as part of its trade diversification strategy, particularly Chile, Argentina, and Brazil, which present significant export opportunities and are expected to strengthen trade ties during Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal's visit from August 24 to 28, an official said. The secretary will chair joint trade meetings in Argentina and Brazil and take stock of the progress of the proposed comprehensive trade agreement with Chile. The official said trade pact talks between New Delhi and Santiago are at an advanced stage, and only a few issues need to be resolved. The issues likely to figure in the Chile meeting include market access and critical minerals. India and Chile implemented a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) in 2006 and are now negotiating to widen its scope for a CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement). CEPA aims to build upon the existing PTA between the two nations and seeks to encompass a broader range of sectors, ..

The commerce ministry on Wednesday notified procedures for online companies to undertake inventory-based cross-border e-commerce. The government recently allowed e-commerce firms, having foreign stakes, to keep inventory only for export purposes. "The operational procedures for the implementation of the inventory-based cross border e-commerce facilitation framework, including registration of exporters-on-record, inventory management, seller visibility, reverse logistics, compliance certification, dispute resolution, and related procedural requirements of exporters-on-record are hereby notified with immediate effect," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a public notice.

India's quality control orders (QCOs) are intended to achieve legitimate public policy objectives, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal said on Thursday. Speaking at a meeting of the Eighth Trade Policy Review of India at the WTO in Geneva, Agarwal further said that trade remedy investigations are conducted transparently, based on objective evidence, due process and judicial oversight. The remarks come at a time when certain WTO member countries have raised issues about QCOs. India's tariff reforms, customs simplification measures and ambitious Free Trade Agreement (FTA) strategy have steadily strengthened the country's integration with the global economy, Agarwal said. He also said that India is committed to an open, transparent and predictable trade and investment regime. The Trade Policy Review is a key transparency and monitoring mechanism of the WTO under which members' trade and related policies are periodically examined to enhance transparency, strengthen adherence to WTO rule

The government on Tuesday said that Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes have resulted in actual investments of over Rs 2.40 lakh crore and generated over 14.15 lakh jobs until March this year. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada said that the schemes have collectively enabled exports of over Rs 15.2 lakh crore since their inception, reflecting India's growing integration with global value chains. "As on March 31, 2026, under the PLI Schemes resulted actual investment of over Rs 2.40 lakh crore and employment generation of over 14.15 lakh (direct and indirect)," he said. According to the data provided by the minister in his reply, the maximum investment was received in the high efficiency solar PV modules (Rs 64,873 crore). It was followed by pharma (Rs 45,158 crore), auto (Rs 44,326 crore), speciality steel (Rs 23,896 crore), and the large-scale electronics manufacturing sector till March (Rs 20,580 ...

Exports to Asean and Africa surged in April-May FY27, driving India's export growth as shipments diversified beyond North America and Europe

A 17-member committee to suggest larger reforms in the policy for special economic zones (SEZs) will soon submit its report to the commerce ministry, an official said. The report, which will be submitted to Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal, may include suggestions to revamp these zones to boost domestic manufacturing, exports and cut imports, the official said. The committee has held meetings with different stakeholders on the issues pertaining to these zones. The committee has focused on issues such as harmonisation of various prevalent export promotion schemes, including SEZs, export-oriented units (EoUs), MOOWR (Manufacturing and Other Operations in Warehouse), Advance Authorisation, EPCG (Export Promotion for Capital Goods), and Duty-Free Import Authorisation (DFIA). "The report will be submitted soon," the official said.Export Promotion The terms of reference of the committee included identification of operational, procedural, and regulatory challenges faced by SEZ developer

Revised Index of Core Industries with 2022-23 as the base year will be released on July 20, adding Iron Ore to the basket and aligning it with key macroeconomic indicators

Commerce Ministry is preparing a list of more than 100 products for higher domestic production as New Delhi seeks to ease pressure on the rupee and strengthen supply chains

India has prohibited imports of goods made using forced labour, issuing its first such notification as the US considers tariffs under a Section 301 investigation