Foregin Trade Policy Comments By ICCI
The Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore, has said that the export targets announced in the annual supplement to the Foreign Trade Policy are inspiring, “but will be difficult to meet unless the problems faced by exporters are addressed at the earliest.”The chamber president, D. Balasundaram, has said in a release that extension of the Duty Entitlement Passbook Scheme (DEPB), interest for delayed refund of taxes to exporters and liberalisation of the Export Promotion Credit Guarantee scheme were welcome measures.Exporters were hit by the sharp rupee appreciation against the dollar and were looking for compensation for income and business lost. They were disappointed on the value cap for DEPB rates and the DEPB rates as there was no major change in these in the policy. “In view of the sharp increase in prices of raw materials such as cotton and iron and steel, reaching the ambitious export target will be a serious challenge,” he said.
