The core focus of the revised Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) would be promoting exports from the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and sectors with high employment potential such as apparel. The revised FTP would be released early to synchronise the same with roll out of Goods and Services Tax (GST),union commerce and industry minister, Nirmala Sitharaman has said.

The minister chaired a meeting on the mid-term review of FTP 2015-2020, organised jointly by department of commerce and research and information system (RIS) for the developing countries. It was attended by the trade policy experts from the industry, academia, research and government.

 Major suggestions discussed during the deliberations related to promoting rupee trade, facilitating not only exports but also imports, and reducing cost of credit. Participants recommended harnessing the high foreign exchange earnings and large employment generation potential of services related to the tourism, education and health sectors.

About the concerns raised on issues relating to GST and its impact on export, Sitharaman said that department of commerce has already taken up these issues with the of revenue department to find a solution.

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