Foreign Trade Policy 2023:
The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles has launched the Foreign Trade Policy 2023.
- The Key Approach to the Foreign Trade Policy is based on 4 pillars:
- Incentive to Remission,
- Export promotion through collaboration – Exporters, States, Districts, Indian Missions,
- Ease of doing business, reduction in transaction cost and e-initiatives and
- Emerging Areas – E-Commerce Developing Districts as Export Hubs and streamlining SCOMET policy.
Features of Foreign Trade Policy 2023:
- The new policy will have no sunset date (ending date) and will be tweaked based on the emerging world trade scenario and industry feedback. While the policy will be open-ended, the schemes sanctioned under it will be time bound.
- There are no major new schemes, barring a one-time amnesty under the existing Advance Authorisation and Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) schemes, that allow imports of capital goods subject to specified export obligations.
- The Policy had opened up a new area of potential exports called “merchanting trade”.
- Merchanting trade refers to shipment of goods from one foreign country to another foreign country without touching Indian ports, involving an Indian intermediary. This will also enable exports of restricted goods
- Four towns in Uttar Pradesh — Faridabad, Moradabad, Mirzapur and Varanasi — were announced as centres of export excellence for their performance in the apparel, handicrafts, handmade carpets and handlooms, respectively.
- It is also looking to lower qualification thresholds for star ratings which recognise exporters based on export performance.
- The importance of simplifying the SCOMET( Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment, and Technologies) Licensing Procedure which aims at streamlining the export of dual-use items.
- Special one-time Amnesty Program for Export Obligations Default.
- The dairy industry will be excused from maintaining average export obligations under the new foreign trade strategy, and a particular advance authorization procedure has been extended to textiles and clothing.
