Exports to US See Remarkable Growth

Blame it on Donald Trump's now-on, now-off tariffs. Frontloading of consignments by Indian exporters to beat higher duties has resulted in goods exports to the US rising seven times faster than the overall growth.

During April-July, goods exports to the US jumped 21% to $33.5 billion, when overall exports grew 3% to $149.2 billion, the latest commerce department data showed.

Challenges and Strategies

"We have spent the last week talking to buyers and in case of old buyers we are looking at some additional discount to retain the business even if it means that we have to pay out of our pockets for sometime," said Sudhir Sekhri, chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC).

Most industry players, however, said it is not possible to retain business with a 50% tariff. "We operate on a very thin margin of 5-7%, where is the question of offering steep discounts to offset the impact of 25% additional duty?"

Looking Ahead

RC Ralhan, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (Fieo) has convened a meeting on export promotion councils Monday to work out a joint petition for govt support. "There will be significant job losses if export orders are cancelled, especially in the MSME sector," he said.