"Need to reconsider import tariffs to support MSME exporters: NITI Aayog Vice Chairperson Suman Bery

NITI Aayog Vice Chairperson Su man Bery has said India should consider imports as an essential strategy to boost export competitiveness, instead of worrying about its consequence on the trade deficit. Bery made his remarks at an event on Saturday to release a study on ‘India’s Export Competitiveness’ by MVIRDC World Trade Center (WTC) in Mumbai.

“For a relatively open economy like India, competitiveness is linked to imports. In certain value chains such as precision engineering, India is dependent on imports. It is tempting to impose tariff on imports to reduce the trade deficit. However, a tax on imports is a tax on exports and hence there is a need to reconsider import tariffs to support our MSME exporters,” a statement by WTC quoted Bery as saying.

Read more at Financial Express