Amid Adverse Global Economic Conditions, Govt Extends Foreign Trade Policy By Another Six Months

The government has decided to extend Foreign Trade Policy (2015-2020) by another six months, starting from 1 October 2022, the Commerce Ministry said on Monday (27 September).

The decision comes as the Central government has again deferred the launch of a new Foreign Trade Policy due to adverse global economic conditions.

The current Foreign Trade Policy was slated to end on 30 September.

In a statement on Monday, the Union Commerce Ministry said that in the recent days, exporters and industry bodies have "strongly urged the government that in view of the prevailing, volatile global economic and geo-political situation, it would be advisable to extend the current policy for some time, and undertake more consultations before coming out with the new policy".

The ministry said the government had received requests from Export Promotion Councils and leading exporters that we should continue with current Foreign Trade Policy (2015-20), which had been extended from time to time.

Foreign Trade Policy provides a framework for increasing exports of goods and services as well as generation of employment and increasing value addition in the country.

It focuses to support both the manufacturing and services sectors, with a special emphasis on improving the ease of doing business, reports Livemint.