- A high-level advisory group constituted by the union commerce ministry on Foreign trade policy has submitted its report to government.
- The panel has recommended the centre to cut down corporate tax rate and set a target to double the exports by 2025.Further,centre should create 25-year sovereign bonds where people declaring undisclosed income bound to invest 50% of that income.
- The advisory group has also requested the Government to drop tit for tat approach on tariff wars with other countries as it may not be the best option for India.
- The panel has also underlined the need for a rationalisation of India’s tariff structure to make it more predictable to encourage participation in global value chains
- The suggestions made by the group also includes (a)creating pan India Tourism board and medical tourism campaign (b)modify labour laws to remove the limitation on firm size (c)review existing free trade agreements (FTAs) ,especially with competitors like Bangladesh and (d)establish industrial parks to cater to the needs of electronics manufacturing.
- The panel has suggested that an Empowered Investment Promotion Agency needs to be set up and empowered to take quick decisions to identify and attract investors based on predefined criteria.
- In April 2015,the government had released the foreign trade policy for 2015-20 which has provided a framework for increasing exports of goods and services.The five-year policy provides guidelines for enhancing exports with the overall objective of pushing economic growth and generating employment.
Avoid tit-for-tat in trade war, cut duties: Panel
7 min read