Government plans ₹2,250 crore push to help exporters counter Trump’s tariffs

The government is poised to roll out support measures under the proposed ₹2,250 crore export promotion mission, aimed at cushioning Indian industry from the impact of global trade disruptions triggered by steep US tariffs announced by President Donald Trump.

“We are in dialogue with exporters to see how we can support them best in different ways, like ease of doing business. We are looking at how to give a boost to domestic consumption. We are looking at new supply chains, which we can capture, new markets, and new products,” an official said, as per a PTI report.

The mission, announced on February 1, could include easy credit schemes for MSME and e-commerce exporters, facilitation of overseas warehousing, and global branding initiatives to tap emerging export opportunities.

On April 30, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) presented the plan to export promotion councils and other stakeholders. Industry officials said the programme will have two components — Providing Trade Finance Support (NIRYAT PROTSAHAN) and the Driving International Holistic Market Access (NIRYAT DISHA) initiative.

The GST Council is also expected to meet soon to discuss rate simplification, rationalisation, and the future of the compensation cess, steps aimed at boosting domestic consumption.

In recent days, the commerce ministry has held several stakeholder meetings to assess challenges posed by the 50% US tariffs on Indian goods. Sectors such as textiles, chemicals, leather, and footwear are expected to be among the hardest hit.

India’s exports in June stood flat at $35.14 billion due to global headwinds, even as the trade deficit narrowed to a four-month low of $18.78 billion. Several key sectors, including petroleum, fabrics, gems and jewellery, leather, iron ore, oil seeds, cashew, spices, tobacco, and coffee, posted negative growth during the month. For Q1FY26, exports rose 1.92% to $112.17 billion, while imports increased 4.24% to $179.44 billion.