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The remarks came close on the heels of US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s remarks earlier in the day in an interview to Fox News, suggesting a similar stance. “At the end of the day we (India and US) will come together,” Bessent said. He added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump have a very good rapport at the top level. “This is a complicated relationship.”
Officials downplay tariff impact
The Indian official quoted above said that there should not be any panic as the impact of the US tariff “is not as drastic or as exaggerated as projected.” Stating that India-US relationship has value, he said the government would definitely look at how the (open) channels of communications are going “to build confidence and address challenges that are there right now.” “In a partnership there are two sides and there both sides are looking at how to resolve the issues and then we will see how next we can move forward,” he added.
The government is also discussing options to give succour to exporters to tide over the current crisis. While a meeting called by the commerce ministry with key export promotion councils was deferred, it may take place without any delay. The government has been urged to lend a helping hand to exporters, especially in sectors where large-scale job losses are feared.
Export push and support measures
In parallel, India is also planning dedicated outreach programmes in 40 countries, including the UK, Japan, and South Korea, to push textiles exports. Together, these countries represent more than $590 billion in textile and apparel imports, offering vast opportunities for India to enhance its market share, which stands at just 5-6% now, according to industry sources.
The official quoted above also said that all the projections about the impact of 50% tariffs on India’s exports are highly exaggerated. “While some units may take a hit, the entire sectors would not. “We have seen disruptions before. There will be a dip for some time then things will pick up,”
India has already exported $ 33 billion worth of goods in the first four months of this financial year and in August too numbers could be good as additional tariffs have kicked-in from the last week. The growth in exports to the US in the first four months was 21%. “That kind of growth we may not see but it would not change overnight.” He also expressed confidence that the overall exports to the US in this financial year would be at the last year’s level of $ 86.5 billion, discounting independent analysis that exports to the US in FY26 could fall by 30-40% on year.
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To deal with the emerging situation the commerce ministry will hold a series of meetings this week with exporters from various sectors, including chemicals, gems and jewellery, to discuss ways to boost exports to new markets.
The work is progressing fast on the formulation of the Export Promotion Mission (EPM), announced in the Budget for 2025-26. It is currently with the finance ministry. The mission will address the problem of credit for exporters and even provide support for market development and promotion. Other than the export focus, the efforts are for deep reforms in domestic industry to make it competitive, the official said.