NEW DELHI: In a bid to boost India’s shipments, leading exporters and industry associations have sought incentives such as credit at affordable rates and demanded clarity on Goods and Services Tax (GST), Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia said on Tuesday. The issue was raised and discussed during the meeting of Board of Trade (BoT) chaired by Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The objective of the meeting was to take suggestions and inputs for the review of the foreign trade policy (2015-20), which is expected to be released by this month-end.
Several comments and inputs were focused on exports, which has started showing positive growth, “but they (exporters) would need support in order to continue to grow over the next few years,” she told reporters after the meeting. Discussions were also held on issues like e-commerce trade, market access, market development, EXIM credit, insurance to exporters and lower cost of credit to facilitate exports, said Teaotia.
Meanwhile, Teaotia said the US has started a trade policy review of those countries with which it has adverse trade balance and India is ranked ninth on that list.
On whether India would raise the H1B visa issue during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US (June 25-26), she said, “This is one of the issues on the table. (But) it is not the only issue. If the issue comes up, it would certainly be taken up,” Teaotia added.