Mumbai, June 25 (UNI) The proposed India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA) should include sectoral tariffs like steel, aluminium, and auto parts as it is crucial for engineering goods exports which account for nearly one-fourth of the country's total merchandise exports, according EEPC

India chairman Pankaj Chadha.

Speaking at the EEPC India Regional Award Presentation ceremony for the fiscal year 2021–22 here, Chadha today said, "It would be unfair on engineering exporters if there is a BTA done without looking at sectoral tariffs. Sector tariff happens to be an important facet of India's exports. We are doing more than around 20 billion dollars of exports to USA.

"So they can't overlook us and do a deal. As and when the first tranche of BTA is done, we hope the sectoral tariff and auto component tariff is part of it."He expressed hope that a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU) could be signed as early as this year considering that a trade deal with the UK has already been finalised and seen as a template for FTA with major developed countries.



"We are hopeful that in this year, we are going to sign. We are very close to it. I would say that one of the closest FTAs we have at the moment is the EU FTA," he said.

Chadha noted that while India-UK FTA has been finalised its implementation may take about a year.

"The FTA with the UK has to be passed in the UK parliament and then there is a cooling off period for getting reservations from the general public and then it will be passed and then it will come into effect. So the earliest we are looking at using the UK FTA is 12 months from now if everything goes well," he said.

Chadha suggested a three-year moratorium for Indian MSMEs from carbon tax proposed by EU under Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) which would come into force in January 2026. He also flagged off the EU's extension of safeguard duty on certain steel products and requested the government to find a solution to it while finalising trade deal with the EU.

The EEPC India chairman also raised concerns of the mica industry and said that the mineral has been categorised as a rare earth mineral and as a result impacting its exports.

"Mica has been classified as rare earth. That makes it difficult for the industry to trade in mica. I don't think mica is a rare earth. It is commonly available. India has 85% of mica deposits. In view of that we may possibly remove it from the rare earth category. Otherwise, it gets restricted for exports," he noted.

Maharastra Development Commissioner ( industries) Deependra Singh Kushwah said "We are trying our best to support exports from Maharashtra and it is our duty. But the main role comes from your side (exporting community). We just facilitate and support. Actual exports are done by you and that is why Maharashtra is the second largest exporting state in the country. Engineering sector plays a very important part in exports from Maharashtra."

"Last year we released our export policy under which there are multiple provisions for setting up export-oriented parks and exports-oriented special projects. The government is providing subsidy upto Rs 50 crore and Rs 100 crore for each project. And 30 such projects are to be set up in Maharashtra under this policy over a period of five years.

He urged exporters to avail the benefits of the state government's exports policy. Kushwah also said that the state government is implementing a 10-point programme to boost exports.

The 10-point programme is aimed at product diversification, capacity building, market access and institutional support among others.

While congratulating award winners for fiscal 2021-22 at the event, Anoop Marwaha, Regional Chairman (Western Region), EEPC India said that FY22 marked a significant milestone for India,

with engineering exports surpassing $100 billion for the first time, reaching an impressive

US$ 112.16 billion.

"This achievement reflects the resilience, adaptability, and innovation of the exporting community,"

he said.

Marwaha recalled how global economic activities virtually came to a halt in the beginning of 2020

as countries across the world imposed complete lockdown in the wake of Covid pandemic.

"It was indeed a tough job, and the awards are much deserved," he said.

As many as 90 awards across seven categories were presented to the most dedicated and high-performing member exporters.

Hindalco Industries, JSW Steel Industries, Tecnimont Pvt Ltd, JSW Steel Coated Products Ltd, Fiat India Automobiles Pvt Ltd, Jaydeep Industries, Jekson Vision Pvt Ltd, Federal Engineers and Oilex Engineers (India) Pvt Ltd were among the winners under different categories.

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