Merchandise exports cross $100bn says Commerce Minister Kamal Nath
06 Apr '06
3 min read
The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shri Kamal Nath has said that the Foreign Trade Policy initiatives of the Government are paying rich dividends which is evident from the fact that merchandise exports from India have crossed 100 billion dollars, up from 63 billion dollars in 2004, that amounts to an increase of about 26 percent year on year, during each of the last two years.
He was the Chief Guest at the 40th Convocation of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) held here today. Shri S. N. Menon Chairman, IIFT and Secretary, Department of Commerce presided over the function and Shri Prabir Sengupta, Director, IIFT delivered the welcome address.
Addressing the graduating students, Shri Kamal Nath said, “Our total economic engagement with the world today, including imports, tops 350 billion dollars, which reflects our growing significance in international trade. Our tariffs are coming down to ASEAN levels, our FDI regime is increasingly liberal, our domestic laws are TRIPS-compliant.”
“But the barriers now in developed countries are more subtle – they are NTBs and SPS regulations: the non-tariff barriers to trade, often in the guise of health or environmental or social concerns are the new instruments of discrimination which we have to fight against. India's core concerns and interests have been addressed in the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration, with enough negotiating space for future work leading to modalities for negotiations in the coming months.”
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