Will fund part of costs for micro, small exporters under EPM: Goyal

The government will fund a large part of the costs incurred by micro and small exporters to obtain international approvals for complying with regulations such as REACH and CBAM in Europe to help them boost shipments, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday.

The support is being extended to these exporters under the ₹25,060 crore export promotion mission (EPM).

Under the mission's Trade Regulations, Accreditation and Compliance Enablement (TRACE) measure, support will be extended to exporters in meeting international testing, inspections, certifications and other conformity requirements.

Partial reimbursement of up to 75 per cent will be provided for eligible testing, inspection and certification expenses, subject to an annual ceiling of ₹25 lakh per IEC (importer-exporter code).

 

"In the export promotion mission, we have provided funds so that wherever you require to get approvals internationally, particularly for micro and small units, the government will fund your approval process, howsoever expensive it is.

"A large part of it will be funded by the government to support micro and small industries, particularly whether it is REACH regulation of Europe...whether it's CBAM verification to bring down your cost of carbon border adjustment mechanism tax or duty in Europe," he said here at the national quality conclave.

He said the move will help the exporters deal with the non-tariff barriers and tapping into new export markets.

REACH is an EU regulation which deals with the manufacture and import of chemical substances.

On the other hand, CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) is an import duty on products whose manufacturing processes involve carbon emissions, such as iron and steel.

The minister also said that India's global outreach will get a big boost through the nine free trade agreements (FTAs) that India has finalised in the last four years.

Goyal appealed to labour intensive sectors, clusters, and MSMEs to focus on process and product improvement, skilling and reskilling the workforce to take significant advantage of these pacts.

India has finalised trade deals with the European Union, New Zealand, Oman, and the UK.

Further he suggested companies to focus on five pillars to improve quality. It includes following standard operating processes for production, skilling, testing and certification, and shared infrastructure.

"There should be continuous inspection and control over production processes so that quality is ensured right from the raw material stage until the finished product is sold in the market domestically or internationally," he said adding skilling of workforce is important to reduce wastage.

On the country's exports, he said India will be able to achieve USD 2 trillion exports target of goods and services in the next 6-7 years. Earlier it was targeted to be achieved by 2030.

"This year also, our exports are on the growth trajectory. The first two weeks (February 1-14), we have seen double-digit growth in our exports," he said.