Addressing a delegation of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), led by Member of Parliament Praveen Khandelwal, at Vanijya Bhawan, the minister said that under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India’s trade ecosystem is undergoing a historic and rapid transformation.
The long-anticipated interim trade agreement between India and the United States has finally come into force, delivering a cautious but politically significant de-escalation of bilateral trade tensions and reopening a pathway toward a more ambitious Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) later this year.
Greer also claimed that India has agreed to eliminate tariffs on industrial goods under the trade agreement with the United States, cutting average levies to zero from the current 13.5 per cent.
Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw, briefing the media on the Cabinet’s decisions, said the mission was announced in the Union Budget 2025–26 with the aim of insulating Indian exporters from global trade uncertainties and addressing persistent bottlenecks in the export ecosystem.
With the steep 50 per cent American tariffs on Indian goods kicking in, the Union Finance Ministry has said the immediate impact on Indian exports may appear limited, but their secondary and tertiary effects on the economy will pose challenges that must be addressed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a crucial high-level Cabinet meeting on Friday at 1 p.m. to assess the impact of the steep tariff hike recently imposed by the US on Indian exports.
While the Trump tariff will affect approximately $8.1 billion worth of India's exports to the US, the overall impact on India's economy remains manageable, said PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI).
India and the United Kingdom are likely to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) next week, and this is expected to eliminate import taxes on nearly 99 per cent of Indian exports to the UK, reports said.
According to the figures released by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry India’s exports, Merchandise and Services combined in February 2022 are estimated to be USD 57.03 Billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 25.41 per cent over the same period last year and a positive growth of 27.07 per cent over February 2020.
India has often complained to China about less Indian exports due to the strictly-controlled Chinese market.
