GSP withdrawal will have little impact on export: FIEO

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) on Saturday said that the GSP (Generalised System of Preferences) withdrawal has limited impact on overall exports to the US.

"India’s exports to the US during 2018 were $51.4 billion. But out of $6.35 billion value of exports from India to the US under the GSP scheme, net benefit to the tune of only $260 million was accrued by the Indian exporters and thus at macro level the impact of GSP withdrawal on our exports to the US would be minimal," Ganesh Kumar Gupta, president FIEO, said in a statement reacting to the US withdrawal of GSP benefits to India from June, 5, 2019,

However, he said that in respect of products having GSP benefits of 3% or more, exporters may find it difficult to absorb the GSP loss.

Most affected sectors include imitation jewellery, leather articles (other than footwear), pharmaceuticals and surgical, chemical and plastics and agriculture. The GSP withdrawal would also affect the US manufacturers, who benefited from it on imports of parts and components, as well as US consumers, he said.

He also said that the government should provide some supports to products where GSP loss has been significant so that the market is not lost. He favoured an extension of Rebate of State & Central Tax Levies Scheme (RoSCTL) on such products on exports to the US.