Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will chair the next Board of Trade (BoT) meeting on Tuesday to discuss strategies for navigating the current global trade environment and potential measures to mitigate its impact.
The BoT, which convenes once a year, is the largest forum bringing together officials from the central and state governments, private sector representatives, and export promotion councils. Last year’s meeting in Mumbai saw the launch of initiatives including the Jan Sunwai portal of the Department of Commerce.
The previous session also witnessed decisions by the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) and the extension of export benefits to e-commerce shipments. This year, however, the external environment is more challenging, particularly following US tariff actions.
EPM and market diversification
The meeting comes shortly after the announcement of the Export Promotion Mission (EPM) and measures by the Reserve Bank of India and the government aimed at easing credit for exporters.
The BoT is expected to seek feedback from exporters on operationalising aspects of the EPM, including credit facilitation, new financing instruments, market access schemes, and initiatives to reduce logistics and other costs.
US tariffs trigger record deficit
Because of the US tariff action India’s exports have come under pressure since the 50% of the additional duties became operational in August-end. In October-the latest month for which the figures are available-merchandise exports fell 11.8% to $34.38 billion while the trade deficit widened to a record high of $41.68 billion, mainly due to a jump in gold imports. The pressure on goods shipments also led to services exports outperforming merchandise exports by a decent margin. Services exports in October were $38.52 billion.
India and the US are in the final stages of negotiating a Bilateral Trade Agreement, which could soon be announced. The first phase of the pact is expected to address tariff issues.
Market diversification, with a focus on India’s top 50 export destinations, remains a government priority and is likely to feature prominently in BoT discussions. Last year, ministers from 10 state governments attended the meeting, and this year’s participation is expected to increase.