India Unveils Foreign Trade Policy 2023, Aims For USD 2 Trillion Exports By 2030

The government unveiled the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023, with the goal of increasing the country's exports to USD 2 trillion by 2030. According to Santosh Sarangi, Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), the new policy differs from past 5-year FTP announcements in that it has no particular end date and will be amended as needed. Piyush Goyal, Minister of Trade and Industry, unveiled FTP 2023, which will go into effect on April 1, 2023, and highlights a change from incentive-based approaches to remission and entitlement-based policies.

Features of the New Foreign Trade Policy 2023:

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal unveiled the revised Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023, which will go into force on April 1, 2023.

The FTP has no set expiry date but will be updated as needed to grow India's exports to USD 2 trillion by 2030. India's overall exports are predicted to reach USD 760-770 billion in the current fiscal year, up from USD 676 billion in 2021-22.

In addition to the existing 39 TEEs, the strategy designates four additional Towns of Export Excellence (TEE): Faridabad, Moradabad, Mirzapur, and Varanasi. The policy extends FTP advantages to e-commerce exports and raises the value limit for courier service exports.

The new FTP also aims to make the Indian rupee a worldwide currency, implement an amnesty program for export obligation defaulters, and exempt the dairy industry from maintaining an average export requirement.

The Indian government has launched an amnesty scheme for the one-time settlement of export requirement defaults as part of the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023.

Holders of Advance Authorization and Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) authorizations will be able to settle their export requirement defaults and renew their authorizations without incurring any fines or legal action under the system.

This action is anticipated to help exporters who may have fallen behind on their export requirements owing to the COVID-19 outbreak or other factors.

Under the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023, four additional towns — Faridabad, Mirzapur, Moradabad, and Varanasi – have been designated as Towns of Export Excellence (TEE).

These TEEs will get priority access to export promotion funding under the Market Access Initiative (MAI) scheme, as well as Common Service Provider (CSP) benefits for export fulfillment through the Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Scheme.

This decision is likely to enhance handloom, handicraft, and carpet exports, which are the backbone of these towns' industries.

The current 39 TEEs were chosen based on their export performance and potential, and the new additions are projected to greatly contribute to India's export growth.

The Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023 acknowledges the potential of e-commerce exports and has implemented policy interventions to help this sector flourish.