Overview
- The Prime Minister met representatives from apparel, leather, gems and jewellery, handicrafts, engineering and seafood to assess the impact of an additional 50% US duty on most Indian goods.
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan joined the session with export promotion bodies.
- The government is considering near‑term steps including the Export Promotion Mission, a possible return of interest subvention for small and medium exporters, and a credit guarantee scheme for loans up to Rs 100 crore, according to officials and industry sources.
- Government sources say India–US negotiations are in their final stages with legal text being prepared, and they suggest the deal could reduce reciprocal tariffs to roughly 15–20%.
- September data show US‑bound merchandise exports fell about 12% to $5.5 billion, with gems and jewellery down over 70% year on year, while exporters were also urged to diversify toward markets such as the European Union and Russia.