The government is thinking ahead as to what bumps and speed breakers and the challenges that might arise and India is formulating strategies accordingly to ensure that interests of our exporters and especially the Indian citizens are protected, said Mr Jitin Prasada, Union Minister of State of Commerce & Industry, Government of India  in New Delhi today, referring to possible challenges arising from protectionist trade policy of countries.

In his address at EEPC India's 54th National Awards and 4th Quality awards ceremony, the Minister noted, "India is growing. We have a 1.4 billion market. We are navigating FTAs on an equal footing. We not only have the numbers which people used to talk about. We have an aspirational spending power population. So, we will get the best in the interest of India and in the interest of our exporters. We will not buckle under any pressure anymore. We will not settle for anything less."

EEPC India joint ceremony of 54th National Awards and 4th Quality awards today saw 106 National award winners across 33 product groups and 14 Quality Award holders across 4 categories today including Maharatna- BHEL, steel giants like ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel,  JSW, POSCO Maharashtra, EPC project leader -  Larsen & Toubro, renowned  defence equipment maker - BEML, automobile industry stars - Isuzu Motors, Toyota Kirloskar, integrated energy solution provider - Toshiba Transmission.

 "This year we are rewarding a team of 106 winners for 106  awards for  their engineering export brilliance for the financial year 2021-2022. The fiscal year 2021-22 marked a significant milestone for India, with engineering exports surpassing USD 100 billion for the first time, reaching an impressive USD 112 billion. This achievement reflects the resilience, adaptability, and innovation of the exporting community. Looking ahead, the government has set an ambitious target of USD 118 billion in engineering exports for the fiscal year 2024-25, aiming for yet another record-breaking performance. The exporting community will rise to the occasion and make this target a reality, further solidifying India's position as a global leader in engineering exports," commented  Mr Pankaj Chadha, Chairman, EEPC India.

Mr Chadha also highlighted some of the challenges being faced by the exporting community. He called for measures to reduce the cost of export credit for MSMEs and protect them from high steel prices which could result from impending safeguard duty in the range of 20-25% on steel.

Pradeep K Aggarwal, Chairman (Northern Region), EEPC India stated that engineering export sector is the largest foreign exchange earner with around 27% share in India's merchandise exports.

Mr Adhip Mitra, ED and Secretary, EEPC India thanked Government of India for announcements made in the Union Budget such as Export Promotion Mission, The Bharat Trade Net initiative, a digital public infrastructure for trade, Expansion of credit guarantee cover, including Rs. 20 crore term loan limits for exporting MSMEs, Customs duty rationalization and import tariff reforms which will help lower input costs for engineering exporters.

Exporter protection strategy emphasizes proactive trade remedies and credit support to shield exporters from protectionist measures. India is developing a policy framework to protect exporters from protectionist measures by employing trade remedies, adjusting import tariffs and safeguard steps, and mitigating cost impacts such as steel duties. Complementary measures include lowering export credit costs, expanding credit guarantee coverage for exporters-especially MSMEs-and deploying digital trade infrastructure and customs and fiscal reforms to reduce input costs and bolster export competitiveness.