Planing 500 delegations, outreach to 1,600 industry chambers to boost FTA utilisation: Piyush Goyal

The commerce ministry is preparing granular plans to boost the utilisation of free trade agreements (FTAs) by Indian industry, including sending 500 delegations abroad, training 1,000 people, and engaging with 1,600 industry chambers, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday.

The commerce and industry minister asked the Indian industry to increase utilisation of these pacts as it will help boost exports and attract investments at a time when the global economy is facing challenges.

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"We are making very granular plans on how we can leverage all these FTAs and convert the global crisis into a golden opportunity," he said at the CII annual business summit.

Since 2021, India has finalised trade deals with Mauritius, the UAE, Australia, Oman, New Zealand, EFTA bloc, UK and the EU.

Goyal said that countries such as Switzerland, the United States and nations in the European Union have much higher per capita incomes and cannot manufacture products at a cost lower than India.

The minister noted that while these economies possess strong technological and industrial capabilities, India has the advantage of competitive manufacturing and talent, which can help the country leverage these large markets more effectively.

"We are planning to take 500 delegations in the next 8-9 months to all parts of the world, particularly FTA countries. We have collected a database of 1,600 chambers in India. We are going to talk to each one of them. Our representatives will interact with them and encourage to export new products, capture new markets. So we are making very granular plans," he added.

Goyal also said that there is clearly an urgent need for some e-commerce firms to go global.

"We are looking at financing warehouses across the world so that people can stock their goods and ship on demand," he said.

About the country's target of USD 2 trillion exports of goods and services in the next 5-6 years, he said the government will work closely with the industry on this.

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The target is achievable with annual export growth of around 15 per cent, he said, expressing confidence that sectors, including automobiles, steel and startups, have the potential to drive this growth through innovation, competitiveness and expansion into global markets.

Responding to a question from Sanjay Budhia on ways to ensure FTA utilisation by entrepreneurs in the remotest parts of the country, Goyal said 1,000 people will be trained and stationed across districts to disseminate information on these pacts.

Budhia is Chair, CII National Committee on Exports, and MD, Patton International.

"The professionals will be trained to disseminate information on FTAs and their benefits. We will help them to create connections leveraging technology, ways to leverage FTAs, encourage new products, bring in new exporters and capture new markets," Goyal said.