India is taking steps to diversify its exports and boost domestic demand to support exporters hit by "unilateral action" taken by a country, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday in his first public comment since the doubling of US tariffs on Indian goods to up to 50 per cent took effect this week.
He said a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Oman will be finalised soon, and Qatar also wants to negotiate a pact with India, as does Saudi Arabia.
He said that talks with the European Union for an FTA are moving at a faster pace now.
The penalty on exports has rung alarm bells across the Indian economy, with everyone from 15 lakh fishing jobs in Odisha to 2.8 crore shrimp farmers in Andhra Pradesh coming under a cloud.
Similarly the diamond hub of Surat, industrial sectors in Bengal and brass industry of Moradabad are also staring at a grim future.
Goyal assured exporters of all support to deal with the current global uncertainties on the trade front, which he said was caused due to the “unilateral actions of a country”.
The government is in consultation with all the stakeholders, including Indian missions abroad, for diversification of exports, he said.
He expressed confidence that domestic consumption will get a boost from the GST reforms. "Our exports this year will be higher than last year," Goyal said at an event
India's share in global trade is only about 2 per cent, and about 40 per cent of items of the total exports to the US are out of the ambit of 50 per cent tariffs.
