Goyal Meets Exporters Amid High US Tariffs

New Delhi, Sep 2 (PTI) Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will meet the exporters community on Wednesday here to discuss ways to further push the country's outbound shipments amid high US tariffs, an industry official said on Tuesday.

The meeting is important as the US has imposed a steep 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods entering America, from August 27.

"The meeting would deliberate upon ways to increase our exports," the official said.

Representatives from all export promotion councils (EPCs) and the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) will participate in the deliberations.

The Commerce Ministry is working on short, medium, and long-term action plans, including proposals like easing norms for SEZ units and allowing an inventory model for e-commerce exports, to help exporters cope with the steep duties.

As part of the immediate or short-term response, the government is considering several steps to ease liquidity, prevent insolvencies, and provide greater flexibility for units in SEZs, and promote targeted import substitution, the official said.

In the medium term, the focus will shift towards leveraging India's free trade agreements (FTAs), intensifying buyer-seller outreach, and strengthening GST reforms to enhance competitiveness.

Snapping the two-month declining streak, India's exports rebounded by 7.29 per cent to USD 37.24 billion in July, while trade deficit widened to an eight-month high of USD 27.35 billion during the month.

During April-July 2025-26, exports increased by 3.07 per cent to USD 149.2 billion, while imports rose 5.36 per cent to USD 244.01 billion. The trade deficit during the first four months of 2025-26 was USD 94.81 billion.