New Delhi: The Trade Connect platform being developed by the Government will provide exporters with product-wise and HSN-code-wise information on destination-country tariffs, Free Trade Agreement (FTA) opportunities and procedures for availing FTA benefits, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said during a stakeholder workshop in New Delhi.
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) organised a stakeholder workshop on Ease of Doing Business (EoDB), FTA opportunities and ongoing trade-related reforms at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
The workshop was followed by an interactive session with Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada.
During the interaction, Goyal outlined the Government’s approach to strengthening export facilitation through physical and digital mechanisms.
He said that instead of establishing separate offices of every department in every location, integrated Commerce and Industry offices are envisaged in major cities to provide businesses with a common point of access to multiple departments and agencies.
The Minister had a frank interaction with industry representatives and directed officials to examine some of the suggestions made by industry. The interaction was the first such interaction with a regional industry association.
Trade Connect to Support Exporters
Goyal also informed participants about the Trade Connect platform being developed to provide exporters with product-wise and HSN-code-wise information. This includes destination-country tariffs, FTA opportunities and procedures for availing FTA benefits.
The Trade Connect platform is also envisaged to use digital and AI-enabled tools to help businesses identify potential export opportunities and infrastructure gaps.
Local Personnel Proposed for Exporter Support
The Minister announced a proposed network of approximately 1,000 trained local personnel, with knowledge of regional languages, to support exporters and prospective exporters at the district and State levels.
These personnel would be trained and subsequently deployed to provide handholding support to businesses, including through industry chambers and regional associations.
The proposed mechanism is aimed at strengthening export facilitation through local support while the Trade Connect platform is envisaged as a digital mechanism for providing information on tariffs, FTAs, procedures and export opportunities.
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Industry Highlights Impact of Manufacturing Interventions
The roller chain and industrial components manufacturing sector highlighted the positive impact of recent policy interventions in strengthening domestic manufacturing.
The industry reported that measures including Quality Control Orders (QCOs), Minimum Import Price (MIP) provisions and higher import duties have supported significant growth in the sector, contributing to a 15-fold expansion, fresh investments of approximately ₹500 crore and the generation of around 5,000 new jobs.
Trade Connect Platform: Industry Raises Trade Facilitation Concerns
Representatives from sectors including pharmaceuticals, textiles, man-made fibres, copper, automotive and engineering, air-conditioners and logistics, along with MSMEs and women entrepreneurs, raised issues relating to export competitiveness, trade documentation, regulatory processes, FTA utilisation, logistics, domestic supply chains, standards and testing infrastructure and regulatory certainty.
Industry representatives highlighted the need for greater interoperability between government systems and foreign trade platforms, including digital transmission and verification of Certificates of Origin under FTAs.
The proposal to extend such electronic processes to other FTA partners was noted for examination. Industry also highlighted the need for further integration of the export cycle involving the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Customs, banks and other stakeholders.
The discussions also covered logistics and trade-process bottlenecks, including documentation backlogs and concerns relating to sea-freight costs.
Sector-specific issues relating to rules of origin and imports, export quality and regulatory processes, import competition, testing and certification infrastructure, and regulatory certainty for MSMEs were also raised.
Focus on Quality and International Standards
The importance of quality and adherence to international standards for strengthening India’s export credibility was also emphasised.
Industry associations and Export Promotion Councils were encouraged to support awareness and compliance with destination-market standards and assist in identifying instances of fraudulent, substandard or non-compliant manufacturing for appropriate regulatory action.
The Trade Connect initiative forms part of the broader trade facilitation measures discussed with industry, alongside digitalisation, documentation and simplification of trade-related processes and procedures.
