According to the Commerce Secretary of the country, the country’s exports are estimated to be more than 860 billion dollars by the current financial year.
By the end of the current financial year, the country’s exports may cross $860 billion. This figure will be seen at a time when only the draft of the trade deal between India and America has come out and it will take some time to start business under the trade deal with Europe. Also, with the trade deal agreement with Britain, business will start from the month of April i.e. the new financial year. If this estimate of the Commerce Secretary proves to be correct, it will be no less than a miracle. There is a reason for that too.
In recent months, American tariffs on India were seen at 50 percent. Besides, a lot of disruption has also been seen in the global supply chain. Even after that, the export sector of the country has performed very well. If the country’s exports cross 860 billion dollars by the end of the financial year, then it will be a big challenge for the world’s largest exporter China, which has made a record of exports of one trillion dollars in a year. Let us also tell you what the government figures are saying.
Government released figures
According to the information, merchandise exports declined to $36.56 billion in January, which was $38.51 billion in December. At the same time, imports increased to 71.24 billion dollars, which shows the increase in exports of gold and silver. Commerce Secretary Rajesh Aggarwal said that during April-January of this financial year, India’s exports have increased by 2.22 percent to $366.63 billion. He also said that exports of goods and services could exceed $860 billion in the entire financial year.
According to government export and import data released on Monday, India’s trade deficit increased to $34.68 billion in January, from $25.04 billion in December. The main reason for this was the huge increase in the import of gold and silver. A Reuters survey of economists estimated the January trade deficit at $26 billion, making the actual figure much higher than expected.
US announced to reduce tariffs
Trade data for January also shows that this month was the last month to be affected by the heavy tariffs imposed by the US on Indian exports. Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump had announced to reduce the tariff on Indian goods from 50 percent to 18 percent, which brought relief to exporters and policy makers. Under the agreement, India has agreed to reduce oil purchases from Russia and plans to more than double its annual imports of American goods.
Trade deal signed with EU
These figures reflect the final impact of the 50 per cent tariffs imposed by Trump, after which the effective rate has come down to 25 per cent and is expected to further reduce to 18 per cent after the proposed trade deal between India and the US is signed in March. Both countries are currently negotiating the agreement on an interim framework basis. India has also recently signed a trade deal with the European Union, which is expected to come into force within the next year, indicating more opportunities to boost exports.
