Can’t leave exporters high and dry’: FM Sitharaman says package soon for exporters hit by US tariffs
NEW DELHI : India will announce a package of relief measures to support exporters facing hardships in the wake of steep US Tariffs, Finance Minister Smt.Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday.This statement comes as the US President Donald Trump last month imposed additional duties on Indian goods, including a 25% punitive levy linked to New Delhi’s Russian crude oil imports. With this, tariffs on several products—ranging from garments and jewellery to footwear and chemicals—have climbed as high as 50%.
Sitharaman said that this package would help those industries affected by the recently imposed tariffs.
“Government will come out with something to handhold those who have been hit by 50% tariffs,” Sitharaman told CNBC TV18, without elaborating further.
Key govt scheme soon
Highlighting that India can’t leave its exporters “high and dry,” Sitharaman said, “Industries have been speaking about tariffs and their impact. The government has designed something, and we will come up with the same for companies hit by 50% tariffs,” the news channel reported.
However, the finance minister added that the proposed plan would need Cabinet approval.
Last week, a Hindustan Times report, citing two government officials, said that the Centre is finalising a comprehensive export support strategy to address immediate liquidity challenges caused by the tariffs.
“To prevent working capital stress and protect employment, the government is considering several steps to ease liquidity, prevent insolvencies, and allow exporters to sustain operations until new markets are tapped,” he added.
The officials said the government is also exploring Covid-style liquidity relief measures while working on medium- and long-term strategies for market diversification and supply chain integration.
Strain on India-US trade ties
Once seen as strategic partners, the tariffs, among the harshest imposed under Donald Trump’s administration, have strained trade relations between the two democracies.
According to industry estimates cited by Reuters, nearly 55% of Indian exports to the US, worth around $48 billion, now face a cost disadvantage against competing suppliers from Vietnam, China and Bangladesh.