Protocol extension on tobacco exports creates a pathway for regulatory cooperation and market access following delegation discussions in China.
A delegation of Indian tobacco exporters promoted Indian unmanufactured tobacco to China, stressing high quality, organic cultivation, low pesticide residues, dual-season production, and cost advantages. The delegation relied on a recently extended protocol that removed a technical barrier, met with State Tobacco Monopoly Administration officials who expressed willingness to cooperate and to send a government and industry delegation to India, and conducted site visits in Yunnan and Zhejiang to explore varietal and standards alignment for market access.

Final approval of National Investment and Manufacturing Zone enables coordinated transport and logistics upgrades to support industrial connectivity.
Government granted final approval for a National Investment and Manufacturing Zone at Kalinganagar, Odisha, and central Ministries/Departments have initiated external infrastructure upgrades: road widening and lane upgrades on NH corridors including bridge works; construction of a 104.24 km Angul-Sukinda broad gauge rail line via a Special Purpose Vehicle; a DPR and inland water terminal planning for National Waterway development; and port berth expansion at Paradip to support export logistics. Final approvals were also granted for two other NIMZs with associated railway projects and surveys to improve regional connectivity.

National Logistics Policy aims to coordinate transport ministries to lower logistics costs and improve farm-to-market cold chains.
Review of the draft National Logistics Policy emphasizes inter-ministerial coordination and inclusion of the Logistics Department in infrastructure planning to rationalize freight movement, enable modal shift, and reduce logistics cost share of GDP. The action plan prioritizes rail freight rationalization including Dedicated Freight Corridor policy, expansion of warehousing and cold chain facilities for perishables, inland waterways and multimodal integration, and streamlining regulatory and procedural multiplicity to enhance export competitiveness and job creation.

Market access for exporters: government engagement and policy measures aim to increase bilateral trade and exports.
Government engagement and bilateral protocols focus on securing market access for Indian agricultural, dairy and pharmaceutical exporters to China, supplemented by regulatory cooperation and joint workshops; domestic policy measures and Foreign Trade Policy schemes provide incentives, exporter support and trade-promotion activities to enhance competitiveness and increase exports.

Export promotion measures expand incentives, credit equalisation and infrastructure schemes to strengthen trade facilitation and sectoral competitiveness.
Central government export promotion combines the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 with targeted incentive schemes (MEIS, SEIS), mid term incentive increases for labour intensive and MSME sectors, interest equalisation on export credit, and sectoral infrastructure measures such as Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme, Transport and Marketing Assistance for agricultural products, and RoSCTL for garments, supported by a Logistics Division and Ease of Doing Business reforms to address logistics and facilitation gaps.

Generalized System of Preferences impacts India-US goods exports, prompting continued bilateral engagement to address product-specific concession effects
Exports from India to the US under the Generalized System of Preferences represented a measurable share of total exports and benefited from an average duty concession that varies by product; the practical impact of GSP depends on product-level concessions and other product-specific factors. Senior trade officials met in May 2019 and the countries committed to continued bilateral consultations as the mechanism to address trade-related issues and the differential effects of preferential tariff treatment.

Export restrictions: processed and organic agricultural products exempted while essential commodity curbs trigger high level review and WTO compatibility.
The Agriculture Export Policy provides a stable trade policy: processed and organic products will remain outside export restrictions even if primary products are restricted; export prohibitions on identified essential commodities under extreme price situations will be decided by a high level committee and pursued in a WTO compatible manner; liberalised import is permitted for value addition and re export.

Import duty on dry rubber increased to bolster domestic rubber demand; utilization period under advance licensing shortened.
The Government increased the import duty on dry rubber and shortened the utilization period for imported dry rubber under the advance licensing scheme to create demand for locally produced rubber; these trade measures operate alongside the Rubber Board's Sustainable and Inclusive Development of Natural Rubber Sector programme, which provides financial and technical assistance, quality planting material supply, and support for grower forums, training and skill development for grower welfare.

E commerce foreign investment policy reiterated; B2B FDI allowed while B2C inventory based retail remains prohibited after consultations
The draft National e Commerce Policy addresses data governance, infrastructure, marketplaces, regulatory measures, domestic digital economy stimulation and export promotion, balancing stakeholder interests. It reiterates the existing Foreign Direct Investment stance: full FDI for B2B e commerce as previously permitted, and prohibition of FDI in inventory based multi brand B2C e commerce; a later Press Note clarified implementation without changing principles, and foreign governments submitted comments on the draft.

Elephant bonds proposed as specialised long term infrastructure financing; tax and financial services reforms urged to boost exports.
The Department of Commerce's High Level Advisory Group recommends targeted tax reforms to boost exports, proposes specialised "Elephant Bonds" to mobilise long term infrastructure financing, and urges reforms to the Financial Services Framework to make India a preferred destination for financial services, tying capital market measures to trade and investment promotion.

Export promotion connects North East agricultural producers with international buyers to facilitate market linkages and infrastructure support.
APEDA organised an international Buyers-Sellers Meet in Imphal to promote export market linkages for agricultural and processed food products from the North East Region, bringing together international buyers, Indian exporters and grower groups to facilitate B2B and B2G interactions, showcase regional produce, and support exporters through promotional activities and infrastructure assistance such as pack houses and cold storages.

Protection of small retailers through a DPIIT committee to clarify FDI in e commerce while promoting export opportunities.
The Government will form a DPIIT led committee chaired by an Additional Secretary, with Commerce, MSME, Consumer Affairs and legal representatives, to hear grievances and provide clarifications on FDI in e commerce; policy changes will be prospective, allow stakeholder adaptation, require e commerce compliance with law, and aim to balance protection of small retailers with promotion of e commerce and export opportunities for handicrafts and handlooms.

Trade facilitation: call centre established to assist exporters and importers with policy queries and issue resolution.
Director General of Foreign Trade (Mumbai) established a dedicated call centre staffed by trained personnel to assist exporters and importers with foreign trade policy and international trade queries; the office also convened a meeting with Regional Chairmen and Export Promotion Council directors to discuss exporter-importer issues and sought industry inputs for resolution.

Termination of preferential tariff benefits ends GSP privileges for India and shifts tariff treatment, prompting bilateral trade discussions.
US termination of preferential tariff benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences for India, effective June 5, 2019, removes unilateral GSP concessions. India's GSP linked exports to the US in 2018 were USD 6.3 billion (about 12.1% of its US exports) with duty concessions around USD 240 million (about 3.8% of the value availing GSP). The US review cited dairy and medical devices; concessions will no longer apply. Impact will vary by product and be managed via ongoing bilateral trade engagement; five year GSP export data for several developed countries is provided.

Export promotion measures expanded through new policy schemes and incentives to boost competitiveness and logistics for exporters.
The government deployed policy instruments to support exports, notably the Foreign Trade Policy 2015 20 introducing MEIS and SEIS with transferable duty credit scrips; increased incentives for labour intensive and MSME sectors via a mid term review; an Interest Equalization Scheme covering pre and post shipment rupee export credit and merchant exporters; and complementary measures including a Logistics Division, Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme, Agriculture Export Policy, Transport and Marketing Assistance, and the RoSCTL for garments and made ups.

Inter ministerial coordination on e commerce established to resolve cross departmental issues and guide a draft national e commerce policy.
A Standing Group of Secretaries under the DPIIT Secretary has been constituted to ensure inter ministerial coordination on crosscutting e commerce issues, and a draft National e Commerce Policy placed in the public domain addresses infrastructure development, e commerce marketplaces, regulatory issues, domestic digital economy stimulation, and export promotion through e commerce.

Exchange rate determination for customs sets conversion rates for specified foreign currencies to Indian rupees for imports and exports.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs determines the Rate of Exchange of specified foreign currencies into Indian rupees for customs purposes, providing separate rates for imported and exported goods, superseding an earlier notification and taking effect from 21st June, 2019; two schedules list per unit and per 100 unit conversion rates for the named currencies.

Personnel certification equivalence enables internationally accepted accreditation of Indian certification bodies, supporting regulator confidence and export of services.
Recognition under the APAC MRA grants international equivalence to NABCB's personnel certification accreditation based on the ISO/IEC 17024 standard, confirming that NABCB-accredited bodies meet criteria for developing and maintaining certification schemes and subjecting accreditation programmes to APAC peer evaluation, thereby enabling NABCB-endorsed certificates to be recognized internationally and used by regulators to establish confidence in certified personnel.

Central bank mandates maintain price stability while considering growth, emphasising clear communication, coordination and financial stability tools.
Central banks must preserve monetary and financial stability while supporting growth; the Reserve Bank's approach sets the primary objective of monetary policy as maintaining price stability within a flexible inflation targeting regime, varying policy stance and instrument choice with macroeconomic conditions. Crisis periods may require unconventional liquidity and asset measures alongside calibrated domestic regulatory responses. Post-crisis reforms focus on stronger capital, leverage and liquidity standards, macroprudential tools, resolution frameworks for stressed assets, and enhanced supervision of non-bank intermediaries and cooperative banks. Communication and coordination are essential to manage spillovers and align price stability, financial stability and growth.

Trade balance shows a wider deficit as imports outpace modest export growth in the April-May period.
India's external trade for April-May 2019-20 shows merchandise and services exports rising modestly while imports increased more, yielding a wider overall trade deficit. Merchandise exports and non petroleum/non gems & jewellery exports recorded positive growth; imports rose in oil and non oil categories, with oil imports up despite lower Brent prices. Services exports and imports for April show growth per RBI data, May services are estimated and subject to revision, and combined merchandise plus services produce a larger provisional deficit for April-May 2019-20 versus the prior year.