Foreign trade policy to boost business sentiment: Industry bodies

Kolkata: The Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) for 2023 announced recently will further boost business sentiments to reach the aspirational target of India becoming a leader in exports, leading industry bodies said.

Chairman of the CII national committee on exports and imports Sanjay Budhia said that reduction in export performance threshold in the new FTP will enable exporters to achieve reduction in transaction costs for outbound cargo.

He said the policy has a strong emphasis on reduction in transaction costs, which will give a fillip to the MSMEs and also internationalisation of the Indian rupee.

He said reduction in user charges for MSMEs under the Advance Authorisation and Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme will encourage the segment. The increased focus on partnering states and districts will also help in building competitiveness of small and medium units.

Budhia added that the introduction of a one-time amnesty scheme for default in export obligation (EO) is a welcome step in reducing litigations.

India's exports of goods and services have already reached USD 760 billion amid global headwinds at the end of the 2022-23 fiscal.

According to him, IMF had projected the global economy to slow down in 2023, and India stands in a sweet spot from the exports point of view.

Chairman of Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) Arun Kumar Garodia said that the FTP for 2023 is pragmatic and positive which will promote exports of merchandise and services while helping the MSMEs to become a part of the global value chain and also make the Indian rupee go global.

The policy also focuses on new areas like e-commerce and green energy, which have huge export potential, he said.

Garodia also said relief has been provided to exporters who are unable to fulfil EO against export promotion capital goods and advance authorisations.