Foreign Trade Policy statement in sync with domestic policies and emerging global trading environment: Commerce Secretary

The Foreign Trade Policy statement for 2015-20, unveiled by the government on Wednesday, reflects the composite thinking and strengths of all government departments and rests on five major planks. These are: dovetailing the trade policy with domestic policy making; aligning it with the thrust on manufacturing and services; synchronization with the ecosystems that are sought to be created for the country; institutional framework that is inclusive in nature and involvement of state governments as stakeholders in the bid to make India a competitive foreign trading nation.

This was stated here today by Mr. Rajeev Kher, Commerce Secretary, while addressing trade and industry representatives at the National Seminar on Foreign Trade Policy organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Mr. Kher reminded industry that it must remain alive and respond to two emerging global developments – one, in two to three years the global  trading architecture will undergo a paradigm shift, where competition will be the key and subsidies may no longer be available and two, the change in the institutional architecture for trading where foreign trade stakeholders would have to take into account mega-regionals such as the trans-pacific partnership and the regional comprehensive economic partnership agreements.

He said the policy statements lays down a framework to increase exports of goods and services as well as creation of employment and increasing the value addition in the export basket.

Mr. Pravir Kumar, Director General of Foreign Trade, in his remarks, pointed out that the thrust of the Foreign Trade Policy statement was on simplification of processes and procedures and making it simpler to do business. “In times to come, subsidies will have to be phased out,” he said, adding that the duty credit scrips available to merchandise and service exports would now be fully transferable and could be used to pay customs duty, excise duty and service tax.

He said the policy statement reflects the department’s effort to bring in 100 procedural reforms. Henceforth on-line applications of exporters and importers  will receive feedback which will reflect the views of all ministries in the digital mode. Consultations with the departments and interactions will also be in the digital mode, he added.