Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) is slated to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Amazon in New Delhi on Wednesday (August 6) to support Indian exporters accessing global markets through cross-border trade and on global e-marketplaces.A stakeholder consultation on e-Commerce will also be held in hybrid mode to deliberate on key issues, challenges, and the way forward to promote a more enabling environment for e-commerce exports from India. The session is expected to witness participation from government departments and regulatory bodies like DGFT, RBI, CBIC, Department of Posts, ECCS, etc, to discuss the current framework, challenges, and suggest improvements for scaling e-commerce exports from India.
Amazon is expected to facilitate on-spot registration and conduct dedicated sessions for exporters to guide them on cross-border e-commerce operations, tools, and compliance.
The sessions aim to benefit suppliers from high-potential product categories identified for global demand by offering tailored support to expand their international reach.Since the announcement of tariffs by the United States, India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has met several exporters from labour-intensive sectors which are expected to be impacted by the tariffs, which include sectors like agriculture, seafood, food processing, textiles, leather and footwear as well as exporters of high-end products like engineering goods, metallurgical coke and steel.Also Read: Avoid rushed US deal under tariff fear, trade veterans warn IndiaSources have indicated that the government is mulling support for exporters across sectors to cushion them against the impact of US tariffs.Sources had told CNBC-TV18 that leather and footwear exporters have sought a 5% duty credit scrip or incentives to partially offset US import duties, along with interest subvention for support amidst global trade volatilities.
While the industry is seeking interim relief for shipment-ready products as geopolitical headwinds are impacting demand, exporters have requested Indian officials to urge the US government to include leather and footwear under the list of exempted items.India’s footwear and leather exports to US between April-June FY26 were almost 50% of full FY25.In FY 2024-25, India and the United States recorded a bilateral trade worth $131.8 billion, with India’s exports valued at $86.5 billion and imports valued at $45.3 billion. Sources have indicated that there will be no impact of the US tariffs on more than 50% of goods exported from India to the US.Sources explained that only exports worth $40 billion will be impacted with tariffs, as exemptions under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act will continue for India’s exports of pharmaceuticals, electronics, and energy products.As per the think tank GTRI, India’s exports exempted from US tariffs include finished pharmaceutical drugs, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs); energy products like crude oil, refined fuels, natural gas, coal, and electricity; critical minerals; semiconductors and electronic products like computers, tablets, smartphones, solid-state drives, flat panel displays, and integrated circuits.Pointing to the use of animal feed in the dairy sector in the US, sources cited “religious sentiments” as a reason to describe dairy and agriculture are red lines in all Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) by India. Sources added that 25% tariffs on India’s exports worth $40 billion are expected to have little impact on the nearly $4 trillion Indian economy with 140 crore consumers.India’s trade surplus with the US has increased to $41 billion in FY 2024-25, from $35.32 billion in FY 2023-24 and $27.7 billion in FY 2022-23. In 2024, India’s main exports to the US included drug formulations and biologicals worth $8.1 billion, telecom instruments worth $6.5 billion, precious and semi-precious stones worth $5.3 billion, petroleum products worth $4.1 billion, vehicle and auto components worth $2.8 billion, gold and other precious metal jewellery worth $3.2 billion, ready-made garments of cotton worth $2.8 billion, and iron and steel products worth $2.7 billion.Imports from the US in the FY included crude oil worth $4.5 billion, petroleum products worth $3.6 billion, coal and coke worth $3.4 billion, cut and polished diamonds worth $2.6 billion, electric machinery worth $1.4 billion, aircraft, spacecraft, and parts worth 1.3 billion, and gold worth $1.3 billion. India has called for the removal of the 26% tariff as well as easing of 50% tariffs on steel and aluminium exports and 25% tariffs on auto exports.India also reserves the right under WTO (World Trade Organization) norms to impose retaliatory duties over the imposition of unilateral tariffs.Also Read: Russia exits nuclear treaty with US after Trump’s submarine deployment citing ‘Nato policies’
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