Page 39 - Chemexcil NEWS August - September 2017 for web

of 10.57 per cent in dollar terms and 6.52 per cent
in rupee terms over the same period last year.
Imports during June 2017 were valued at US$
36,522.48 million (Rs 2,35,361.85 crore) which
was 19.01 per cent higher in dollar terms and
13.96 per cent higher in rupee terms over the
level of imports valued at US$ 30,688.54 million
(Rs. 2,06,524.39 crore) in June, 2016. Cumulative
value of imports for the period April-June 2017-18
was US$ 1,12,263.10 million (Rs. 7,23,631.11 crore)
as against US$ 84,545.78 million (Rs. 5,65,754.29
crore) registering a positive growth of 32.78 per
cent in dollar terms and 27.91 per cent in rupee
terms over the same period last year.
Major commodity group of imports showing
high growth in June 2017 over the corresponding
month of last year are petroleum, crude &
products (12.04%), electronic goods (24.22%),
pearls, precious & semi-precious stones (86.31%),
machinery, electrical & non-electrical (7.02%) and
gold (102.99%).
On trade in services, in which as per WTO’s latest
ranking, India is placed at the eighth slot as the
leading exporter valued at 161 billion US dollars
in 2016 and holding 3.4 per cent of the global
share. India is also hailed as the leading importer
of services holding the tenth slot, accounting for
a share of 2.9 per cent of global share in imported
services valued at 133 billion in 2016. Thus, India
enjoys a trade surplus of a huge 28 billion dollars
in services export. It is also a fact that the share process of simplifying border management steps
of services to total gross value added for the last
three years hovers between 51.8 per cent in 2014-
15 to 53.7 per cent in 2016-17.
It is therefore no wonder that the country has
tabled the ‘concept note for an initiative on trade
facilitation in services” at the WTO to facilitate
discussion among WTO members with an aim
to achieve a positive outcome to leverage India’s
competitive advantage as a services exporter.
With a view to promoting trade in services, the
government has pursued a multi-pronged and
holistic strategy of negotiating meaningful market
access through multilateral, plurilateral and
bilateral trade deals, trade promotion through
participation in global fairs/exhibitions, focused
strategies for specific markets and sectors. It
has also extended fiscal benefits and incentives
through Services Exports from India Scheme
(SEIS).
In all, both in goods and in services, the country
continues to grow apace in recent months
despite the inhospitable external milieu in the
form of trade protectionism and impediments to
services exports by strict visa regime from the
rich world and an anemic global growth in both
the merchandise goods and relatively moderate
growth in services.
It needs to be noted that the new Foreign Trade
Policy (FTP) unveiled by the NDA government
on April 1, 2015 had a focus on bolstering both
manufacturing and services exports and improving
the ease of doing business. Salient features of the
FTP 2015 encompass, among others, merchandise
export from India scheme, service export from
India scheme, free transferability of duty credit
scrips for payment of custom duty, excise duty
and service tax. The government also ratified the
Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) of the WTO to
make India’s foreign trade a hassle-free operation
for the stakeholders over the years. A National
Committee on Trade Facilitation under the
chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary has been
established which would go into the evolving of
and adoption of new transparency measures,
all of which are likely to cut the transaction
cost of imports and exports and enable smooth
movement of goods across borders.
In all, India’s foreign trade is in the cusp of major
transformations and a perspicuous picture would
unfold before long once all the crucial initiatives
currently under way begin to fructify. (PIB)
(Source:- http://sentinelassam.com/story/editorial/0/new-
horizons-on-india-s-foreign-trade/2017-08-21/1/317765#.
WZuxLigjHIU dated 21st August-2017)
37 August-September-2017