The Commerce and Industry Ministry has held an inter-departmental meeting in a key step towards strengthening India’s position in free trade agreement (FTA) discussions with the European Union and the United States in developing a comprehensive textile export policy, sources said.
The meeting involved officials from the Commerce Ministry, Finance Ministries, and Reserve Bank of India (RBI), among others. The discussions focused on potential policy instruments that would enhance India’s textile exports and make the sector more competitive, thus positioning the textiles within India’s overall trade agenda.
India’s textile and apparel industry is one of India’s largest employers and a major foreign exchange earner and is up against stiff competition from lower-cost competitors like Bangladesh and Vietnam. The ongoing FTA discussions will be a critical moment for India, as EU and US markets comprise a significant portion of the global textile consumption, and the timely negotiations will afford an opportunity to gain tariff concessions and preferential access.
Key discussion points for the meeting are to include export financing, adherence to global quality/sustainability standards, and maximizing the outcomes of the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. The discussions will focus on structural and financial measures to assist Indian textile exporters in accessing changing supply chains and global sourcing patterns.
Officials believe the sector can do very well under FTAs, due to the labor-labour-intensive nature of the textiles and alignment with the government vision regarding export-led growth.
