Page 2 - Commerce Ministry

Apeda to open offices in Patna, Raipur, Dehradun to aid agri exporters

The commerce ministry's arm, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), has decided to open its three new regional offices in Patna, Dehradun and Raipur to support agri exporters, an official said. At present, the Delhi-headquartered authority has 16 regional offices in cities, including Bengaluru, Srinagar, Jammu, Ladakh, Guwahati, Mumbai, Varanasi, Kochi and Bhopal. The functions of the authority include development of industries relating to a certain number of products for export, registration of persons as exporters of those products, fixing of standards, improving packaging, and marketing. The official said the new offices would promote shipments by agri exporters. APEDA has taken a series of measures to boost the country's agri exports, which crossed USD 50 billion in 2024-25. "Focused measures are being taken by APEDA to diversify exports of its scheduled products, including GI-tagged products. This includes boosting exports of traditional

DGTR suggests safeguard duty on imports of some steel items for 3 years

The commerce ministry's arm, DGTR, has recommended final imposition of a safeguard duty on imports of certain flat steel products for three years to protect domestic manufacturers from sudden jump in the inbound shipments. The duty was recommended by the directorate general of trade remedies (DGTR) in its final findings of a probe initiated on a complaint by the Indian Steel Association. Based on the preliminary findings, the government in April has already imposed a provisional 12 per cent safeguard duty for 200 days. Now in its final findings, the DGTR has concluded "that there is a recent, sudden, sharp and significant increase in imports of PUC (product under consideration) into India at the cumulative level as a result of unforeseen developments...and threaten to cause serious injury to the domestic industry/producers," the DGTR has said in a notification. It has recommended a 12 per cent duty in the first year, 11.5 per cent in the second, and 11 per cent in the third year.

India remains fully engaged with US on trade negotiations: Commerce Secy

Barthwal said that Washington is a very important trade partner for New Delhi. A US delegation is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi for the next round of negotiations on August 25

Centre wants states to support exporters hit by Donald Trump tariff

Exporters have warned that the US tariff hike poses a setback, affecting nearly 55 per cent of India's shipments to the American market

India, US 'actively involved' in trade talks: Govt a day after MEA rebuke

This follows a scathing response from the MEA a day earlier to US President Donald Trump's threat of higher tariffs on Indian goods for importing Russian oil

We are reviewing Prez Trump's 25% tariff, committed to fair trade deal: GoI

The commerce ministry said the Indian government remains committed to a fair trade deal and will take all necessary steps to protect national interests

Looking to speed up talks to review Asean trade pact: Piyush Goyal

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal discusses the ongoing review of the India-ASEAN trade pact with Malaysia's T Zafrul Aziz, highlighting challenges and the need for fair trade and a comprehensive deal

Small tea growers ask Centre to set up fair price discovery mechanism

Small tea growers, who contribute more than 50 per cent to the crop production of the country, have urged the Centre to set up a fair and transparent price discovery mechanism so that they can realise a proper value by selling leaves to factories. In a letter to Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, the Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers Associations (CISTA) suggested a price protection scheme modelled on the lines of the minimum support price (MSP). It said the Tea Board should undertake a detailed study to determine an equitable price-sharing ratio between small growers and factories. Small growers are facing the persistent challenge of poor price realisation, which is undermining the sector's sustainability, CISTA president Bijoy Gopal Chakraborty said. Small growers contribute more than 52 per cent to the country's tea production, and a proper price realisation mechanism should be identified so that livelihoods are sustained, he said. Chakraborty said the association has alre

Looking to fast-track trade pact review talks with Asean: Piyush Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said discussions are underway with ASEAN to review the existing trade pact, and he is looking forward to fast-track the negotiations. The issue figured during the meeting between Goyal and his Malaysian counterpart T Zafrul Aziz. "Had a productive meeting with @Tzafrul_Aziz, Malaysian Minister of Investment, Trade & Industry. Malaysia is India's permanent coordinator from ASEAN on economic matters," Goyal said in a post on X. The ministers discussed the ongoing review of ASEAN India Trade of Goods Agreement (AITIGA) and addressing its challenges therein. "Looking forward to fast-tracking discussions with ASEAN Member States to ensure fair trade and balanced growth," he said adding, "We also discussed furthering discussions on the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) between both the countries". The remarks assume significance as the review talks are progressing slow. The review of the agreement is a ...

Digital news publishers' body backs copyright protection in AI training use

DNPA supports government review of AI and copyright laws, urging fair compensation for digital news content used in AI training

Task Force on textile exports to tackle sectoral issues: Commerce Ministry

A task force on textile exports will create a unified platform to address critical issues concerning the sector to boost outbound shipments, the Commerce Ministry said on Wednesday. The country aims to increase textile exports to USD 100 billion by 2030-31. The first meeting of the task force was held on June 10 under the chairpersonship of Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal to discuss issues and strategies for enhancing textiles exports from India, besides increasing share in global markets. Barthwal said the primary objective of the task force is to create a unified platform for addressing critical issues concerning the textile sector by involving all relevant stakeholders. Special Secretary, Department of Commerce, Rajesh Agrawal said there is a need to focus on innovations keeping in view the latest trends to garner a higher share of the export market. Textiles is one of the key focused sectors identified by the Department of Commerce for promoting exports. While the governmen

Piyush Goyal calls Italian business enclaves in India to boost investment

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday proposed to develop an industrial conclave for Italian businesses in India to promote investments. Speaking here at India-Italy Business Forum meeting, he said Italian companies can consider setting up manufacturing units and offices in those enclaves. "I have a proposition for you. We can set up Italian enclaves where Italian businesses can set up shops... we can set up hotels, restaurants, healthcare for Italian people who would come to work there. It will be home away from home for them," Goyal said. These industrial parks can be set up in the proposed industrail corridors in different parts of the country. The minister is here on a two-day visit. He is meeting leaders and businesses to boost trade and investments between the two countries. India would invite Italian companies to certain locations in India such as Dighi near Mumbai and Sambhaji Nagar (Aurangabad) in Maharashtra to showcase potential locations for these ...

IIFT to open its first overseas campus in Dubai, receives govt approval

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, which comes under the Ministry of Commerce, has received final approval to open its first campus abroad, however, final permissions from the UAE are pending

WPI inflation falls to 13-month low in April as food, fuel become cheaper

The sharpest vegetable price fall since October 2023 and a broad-based slowdown in fuel and manufactured goods inflation pulled WPI to its lowest level in over a year

Centre warns industry against transhipment to US; assures clarity on norms

The Commerce Ministry has cautioned the domestic industry to strictly follow the US 'rules of origin' norms while exporting goods to America, as re-routing products from high-tariff countries without substantial value addition could be classified as transhipment and attract higher duties, an official said. The ministry has also assured the industry that all efforts would be made to codify the value addition norms to provide certainty and clarity to exporters, the official said. The issue was deliberated at length during a stakeholder consultation on India-US trade ties, convened by the ministry on May 2 here. The stakeholder consultation was chaired by Special Secretary in the ministry Rajesh Agrawal. He is also India's chief negotiator for the India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA). Transhipment refers to the process of importing products from one country and then exporting to another, usually without significant processing or value addition. In a meeting with exporters last mon

Centre consults industry on India-US trade pact, seeks suggestions

The commerce ministry on May 2 held a comprehensive consultation with the domestic industry on the proposed India-US trade agreement and sought suggestions to further deepen bilateral trade ties in a mutually beneficial manner, an official said. The stakeholder consultation was chaired by Special Secretary in the ministry Rajesh Agrawal. He is also India's chief negotiator for the India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA). During the meeting, Department of Commerce briefed the industry representatives on recent developments related to India-US trade ties and solicited their views and suggestions to further expand them in a mutually beneficial manner, the official added. The special secretary assured the industry that their inputs would be factored in the ongoing trade negotiations. Senior representatives from industry bodies including Confederation of Indian Industry, FICCI, PHDCCI, India Cellular and Electronics Association and Assocham participated in the deliberations. The first

Commerce Min seeks exporters' views on schemes under export promotion plan

The commerce ministry has sought views of export promotion councils (EPCs) on the different schemes which the government is framing under the export promotion mission announced in the Union Budget, an industry official said. The councils will have to submit their comments by tomorrow to the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), the official said. The government is framing schemes for MSME exporters to provide credit on easy terms, promote alternate financing instruments through strengthening factoring services for them and offer monetary assistance to deal with non-tariff measures imposed by other countries. The commerce, MSME and finance ministries are working on these schemes. In the meeting, DGFT Ajay Bhadoo made a presentation on the mission to the representatives of the councils. Officials from ECGC, EXIM bank, and the RBI were also present at the meeting. Certain exporters have suggested to the ministry that funds under MAI (Market Access Initiative) should be given o

Commerce ministry plans to extend RoDTEP scheme beyond September 30

The RoDTEP scheme came into effect in 2021 and refunds the embedded non-creditable central, state, and local levies paid on inputs to exporters to boost India's exports

Commerce secy visits Croatia, Netherlands to boost trade, investment ties

The April 22-26 visit came ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's three-nation Europe tour to Croatia, Netherlands and Norway in May

Core sector growth rises slightly to 3.8% in March, shows govt data

In March 2024, core sector growth had stood at 6.3 per cent