India should seek US oil tariff removal before any trade pact: GTRI

New Delhi [India], November 25 (ANI): The Global Trade Research Initiative has in its recent report argued that obtaining a US tariff rollback should be India's immediate priority.

Removing oil-related duty would cut the effective US tariff burden on Indian goods from 50% to 25%, providing much-needed relief to labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, leather, gems and jewellery and pharmaceuticals, the GTRI said on Tuesday.

GTRI urged the members of the Board of Trade (BoT) to place two issues at the top of their scheduled meeting namely Quick roll out Export Promotion Mission, and push US to drop Oil Tariff. The BoT meeting scheduled for today, will be chaired by the Commerce and Industry Minister to recommend measures to lift export growth.

It urged that the BoT to recognise that securing this tariff reduction is essential for restoring India's export competitiveness and ensuring future negotiations with the U.S. take place on equal footing.

GTRI recommended that India must press Washington to withdraw the additional 25% "Russian oil" tariff before committing to any U.S. trade pact.

President Trump has publicly confirmed that India has "very substantially" stopped buying oil from sanctioned Russian firms, the very basis on which the surcharge was imposed.

With that condition now met, GTRI argues that obtaining a tariff rollback should be India's immediate priority. Removing the oil-related duty would cut the effective U.S. tariff burden on Indian goods from 50% to 25%, providing much-needed relief to labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, leather, gems and jewellery and pharmaceuticals.

Another issue placed by GTRI was that the government must quickly roll out the specific schemes under the Export Promotion Mission (EPM).

The Mission, announced in the Union budget was approved by the Cabinet on November 12, remains only a framework with no operational schemes even as eight months of FY 2025-26 have passed, it said.

Old programmes such as the Market Access Initiative and Interest Equalisation Scheme have made no payouts this year, leaving exporters without support at a time of global stress.

With annual EPM funding capped at under Rs 4,200 crore, barely enough to meet last year's interest-support bill, GTRI cautions that the Mission will fall short of its objectives unless the government quickly publishes scheme guidelines, restores predictable disbursals and gives exporters clarity on eligibility and timelines. (ANI)

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