Union minister Piyush Goyal on Friday asked the industry to flag the countries that are placing non-tariff barriers on Indian exports and promised to take retaliatory actions against those countries.
Speaking at the 92nd Annual Convention of Ficci, the commerce and industry minister also said India needs to get more competitive, and stressed on addressing the problems of the entire value chain, be it inverted duties, dumping, or unfair subsidies.
"Our government does not believe in solving issues individually for a company. We believe in doing a root cause analysis, we believe in understanding where the problems are and we believe in finding a sustainable solution that can outlive an individual's problem," Goyal said.
The minister said "a responsible government, a listening government" can impact business, can make a change and assured the corporate leaders present at the event that his office and he himself was available 24x7 to address the industries' concerns.
He further said the stakeholders need to tell the government, which country is using any trade remedial measures or non-tariff barriers which impact their exports to that country.
"Our government is willing to stand by you and look at retaliatory actions and impose similar trade remedial measures," Goyal said.
India's exports contracted for the fourth month in a row in November, dipping 0.34 per cent to USD 25.98 billion, mainly on account of poor shipments of petroleum, gems & jewellery and leather products.
He also pointed out that the industry and the government need to work together to rejuvenate that entrepreneurial spirit and find solutions to certain problems which are real.
"As much as we engage with each other, we will be able to come to solutions and devise innovative solutions," he said.
Goyal also asked the industry to bring all issues concerning them before the government and tell if the system is working well.
"My officers will convince me with a beautiful presentation...'all is well'. That's the message we get from our officers every time we take presentation.
"But all is certainly not well when I look at your faces. So, I really believe we need to talk to each other more," Goyal said.
The minister also said India is the best place to invest in.
"It's the place, where you get both, a competitive edge and get a huge domestic market aspiring for a better quality of life," he said.
On the NIRVIK (Niryat Rin Vikas Yojna) scheme, Goyal said it has been designed in such a way that every exporter will get dollar financing or foreign exchange financing, and those who want to take money in rupee terms will positively get financing in the domestic currency.
Referring a remark he made at the board of trade meeting in September, Goyal said he had a "slip of tongue" while he was trying to inspire the audience to think beyond mathematics of 4.5 per cent and 8 per cent economic growth rate.
"But that slip of tongue has cost me so much that ever since then till today every time they have to attack me, my opponents, they have nothing else except to give me scientific terminology on which I goofed up," Goyal said.
The minister was trolled for his remarks that "maths did not help Albert Einstein to discover gravity".
"But the fact is, it is all of us who have to decide whether we are willing to look at 10 per cent or 9 per cent or 8 per cent growth rate or we are going to keep cribbing," Goyal said.
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