Question : Boosting Exports

(a) whether in the wake of growing protectionism globally, the Union Government, State Governments and industry representatives along with exporters/Ministry officials have recently discussed ways to boost the country’s exports;
(b) if so, the details of the persons who attended the meeting and the discussions held in the meeting along with the outcome thereof and the steps taken to enhance exports;
(c) whether the Union Government has advised all the States to formulate their export policies and appoint Export Commissioners;
(d) if so, the details of the States which have acted upon the advice of the Union Government; and
(e) the extent to which the growing trade tensions between the US and China have any impact on our trade growth?

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
(SHRI C. R. CHAUDHARY)

(a) &(b): Yes, Madam. Amongst other initiatives, the 4th Meeting of the Council for Trade Development and Promotion was held on 10th January, 2019 under the Chairmanship of Hon''ble Commerce & Industry Minister. Ministers from 09 States and representatives of other State Governments, Line Ministries and leading Industry Bodies attended the meeting. In the course of the meeting, various issues / bottlenecks impeding our exports were discussed and deliberated. The states were also appraised of the recent Agriculture Export Policy and other initiatives where both centre and State could partner in boosting exports from the Country.

(c) & (d) : The Government has requested all States to develop an Export Strategy for the State and nominate a Senior Officer as the Export Commissioner, who would coordinate all export efforts, required from the different agencies of the State Government. 15 States have informed that they have formulated their export strategy. These are Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Jammu & Kashmir, Assam, Tripura, Gujarat, Haryana, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Odisha.

Further, 26 States, viz. Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Goa, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat have informed that they have nominated an Export Commissioner in their State.

(e) : The current trade stand off between US and China is likely to have its impact on the imports and exports of other countries, including India and may bring about a shift in trading patterns globally. The retaliatory tariffs between US and China provide a window of opportunity for enhancing India’s Exports to China and US, particularly in products in which India is competitive and to the extent our available production capacity and exportable surpluses allow. The latest data of our trade with China reflect a measure of success that we have achieved in increasing our exports to China
Year (value in US $ Billion)
China 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2017-18 (April – Dceember)
(9 months) 2018-19 (April – December)
(9 months)
Export 14.82 11.93 9.01 10.17 13.33 9.4 12.70
Import 51.03 60.41 61.71 61.28 76.38 56.3 53.90
(Source : DGCIS)

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