India’s Export Promotion Mission to counter US tariffs

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday said the guidelines for the Rs 25,060-crore Export Promotion Mission (EPM) are likely to be issued from next week, setting out its components and benefits for industry.

The government had approved the EPM on November 12 with an outlay of Rs 25,060 crore for six financial years starting 2025–26 to help exporters manage high tariffs imposed by the US. The mission will operate through two sub-schemes — Niryat Protsahan (Rs 10,401 crore) and Niryat Disha (Rs 14,659 crore).

“The guidelines for the export promotion mission will be released soon. I think the details, including its elements and how the industry can benefit from it, will be released next week,” Goyal told PTI.

Under the mission, priority support will go to sectors hit by recent global tariff hikes, including textiles, leather, gems and jewellery, engineering goods, and marine products. These sectors have been facing challenges in the US market, where India’s merchandise exports declined 8.58 per cent to USD 6.3 billion in October due to steep duties.

The US has imposed a 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods from August 27. India and the US are currently negotiating a bilateral trade agreement.

On the export decline to the US, Goyal said there was a drop in three to four sectors and added that the ministry is working on trade diversification. Citing shrimp exports, he said the European Union has approved an additional 108 domestic fishery units for supplying marine products to the bloc. Russia is also approving 25 Indian fishery units.

“A big delegation from Russia is also coming on December 5. So, in different ways, we are working to support the affected sectors,” he said.

The minister is currently in Israel to meet leaders and businesses to discuss ways to boost bilateral trade and investments. He is leading a 60-member business delegation.

Under Niryat Protsahan, the focus will be on improving access to affordable trade finance for MSMEs through interest subvention, export factoring, collateral guarantees, credit cards for e-commerce exporters, and credit enhancement support for market diversification.

Under Niryat Disha, funds will support non-financial enablers, including assistance for international branding, packaging, participation in trade fairs, export warehousing and logistics, inland transport reimbursements, and trade intelligence and capacity-building efforts.

India’s exports contracted 11.8 per cent to USD 34.38 billion in October due to the impact of US tariffs, while the trade deficit widened to a record USD 41.68 billion, mainly because of a surge in gold imports.

Government data shows imports rose 16.63 per cent to an all-time high of USD 76.06 billion due to high inbound shipments of gold, silver, cotton raw/waste, fertiliser, and sulphur.

During April–October of this fiscal, exports inched up 0.63 per cent to USD 254.25 billion, while imports grew 6.37 per cent to USD 451.08 billion. The merchandise trade deficit during April–October 2025 stood at USD 196.82 billion, compared to USD 171.40 billion in the same period of April–October 2024.

Key segments such as engineering goods, petroleum products, gems and jewellery, apparel and textiles, organic and inorganic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and plastic goods reported contractions. Handicrafts, carpet, leather, iron ore, tea, rice, tobacco, spices, and oil meals also recorded negative export growth in October.

The US’s 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods continues to weigh heavily on India’s overall export performance.

(With inputs from agencies)