Look EU policy to help exporters

Bikky Khosla | 23 Oct, 2007
Exporters will accept the fact that now is the time to find newer markets to beat the appreciating rupee and the EU can be the best option.

Today the EU accounts for 25 percent of India’s FDI approvals and 13 percent of actual FDI inflows. Interestingly this is just a meager 0.02 percent of EU’s total FDI outflow.

India has rightly asked the European Union to recognise its quality testing standards and remove non-tariff trade barriers which can ultimately eliminate import duties over the next 10 years.

Another area where the Indian thinktank should engage when in talks with the EU governing body is flexibility on the Rules of Origin. Easy movement of people will also have to be ensured between the two.

Exporters will also have to adapt to the markets of the EU to keep the buyers interested in their goods. The Indian government is also engaged in talks with its EU counterparts to get a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) as a part of a trade pact. This, I think, is absolutely essential for exports.

Apart from EU, Indian exporters will have to look at the regional markets too. These markets are promising and are waiting to be explored. I see a great deal of profit-making if we focus on these regional markets.

Having said that, exporters will have to take cost-effective measures back home to bring down the cost of the goods. This will not only increase their profit margins, but will also help them counter the threats of low-cost goods provided by certain competing nations.