President Droupadi Murmu with Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC), in New Delhi on Monday.
Photo: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Engineering goods exporter lobby EEPC India on Monday urged the central government to extend financial support to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) hit by the US tariffs.
EEPC India Chairman Pankaj Chadha suggested that the government should consider interest equalisation schemes for MSMEs in order to reduce the interest burden on small businesses.
Interest paid by the MSMEs currently hovers around 9% or above, making the cost of capital high and rendering them less competitive in the global market, he said.
He also urged the government to sign free trade agreements with Latin American countries like Chile, Peru, and Mexico in order to diversify the export markets.
“We need to have some advantage over our competitors. The only way we can have a better advantage with government support is to have an FTA with Chile, Peru, and Mexico. If we can get duty-free access to them, we can derisk a substantial part of the US exports to South America and possibly West and North Africa,” Chadha said.
Referring to the impact of the sudden surge in tariffs on Indian exporters in the US, Chadha said the rating agencies should ignore the US exposure of companies while reviewing their ratings. The US has imposed 50 tariffs on Indian goods effective from August 27.
“I request that, at least for this year, US exposure is not taken for rating consideration. Because if the US exposure is taken for rating consideration, then most of the companies will get a downgrade, not an upgrade. So, as a one-time exercise, the US exposure should not be taken,” he said.
Earlier, speaking at the platinum jubilee celebrations of the EEPC India, President Droupadi Murmu said the challenges of global trade need to be turned into opportunities by utilising the exceptional capabilities available in the country and making India a global innovation centre.
India’s engineering export destinations have changed significantly over the last seven decades. EEPC should continue this process of change and keep working to make India’s economy continuously stronger, the President said.
Underlining the growth in India’s engineering exports, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said India’s engineering goods exports rose from $10 million in 1955 to $116 billion in 2024-25.
Goyal asked businesses that are import dependent, to procure products that are made in India.
On GST reform, Goyal said efforts must be made to
ensure that the benefits of Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate cut were passed on to end consumers.