Piyush Goyal to meet exporters on Feb 11 as India eyes major trade pacts

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will hold a meeting with representatives of export promotion councils and industry associations on February 11 here amid finalisation of trade pacts with the US and the European Union, an official said on Monday.

The meeting is important as India and the US have finalised a framework for signing the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement.

Under this, the US has agreed to reduce the 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent.

It has already eliminated the punitive 25 per cent tariffs on India, which was imposed in August last year for purchasing Russian crude.

 

Indian exporters were eagerly waiting for this deal as the US is the largest export destination for several labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, leather and footwear and gems and jewellery. The steep 50 per cent tariffs were hurting India's exports to America.

The industry official said that all the export promotion councils have been invited for the meeting.

India has last month the conclusion of negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with the 27-nation EU bloc.