Beyond FTAs: Goyal outlines a 4-pronged strategy to boost exports

Chennai: Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal has outlined a four-pronged strategy to accelerate India's export growth, calling for deeper FTA awareness, an uncompromising focus on quality, higher value addition, and stronger local export ecosystems.Addressing a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) conference on export competitiveness virtually, Goyal said India must take its free trade agreements (FTAs) "to the grassroots", ensuring that their benefits are understood not just at the policy level but on the factory floor.
Awareness of tariff reductions and market access opportunities must reach clusters, districts and MSMEs across the country, he said. "We need training of trainers and physical outreach across the length and breadth of India. It's not enough to explain the policy — we must explain the profit that flows from it," he noted.According to the minister, when a small enterprise understands how a tariff cut can make its product more competitive abroad or open up a new market, confidence rises instantly. "This awareness is the first step towards greater utilisation of the benefits under the FTAs. Number two, quality is no longer an option," he added.Quality, he said, is the second and non-negotiable pillar. "Quality is no longer optional. It is the passport to global markets. Standards are not barriers; they are entry tickets," Goyal said, invoking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ‘Zero Defect, Zero Effect' vision. The third pathway involves steadily moving up the value chain. Exporters should continually ask whether they can step up from raw materials to finished or branded products, he said — from cotton to branded garments, from PVC to finished auto components, from basic steel to specialised defence or aerospace parts, and from APIs to advanced formulations. "Value addition is where jobs increase, margins improve, and India's global standing strengthens," he observed. Finally, Goyal called on corporate India to help build local export ecosystems. He urged companies and industry associations to consider "adopting" districts, panchayats or Tier-III and Tier-IV towns to mentor MSMEs and develop backward linkages. "When large firms work with smaller enterprises within the same geography, a district can evolve into an export ecosystem — and that ecosystem becomes a competitive advantage," he said. India now enjoys preferential access to markets accounting for nearly two-thirds of global trade, he said, adding: "Today, we have signed the joint statement launching free trade agreement negotiations between India and the six-nation bloc of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in the Middle East." He said he was engaging with Chilean counterparts to finalise a "new-age" agreement that would expand access to critical minerals. Negotiations with Canada are also expected to be launched shortly. The government views this network of trade agreements as a strategic tool to de-risk supply chains through diversified partnerships. Early outcomes are visible: merchandise trade with Australia and the UAE has doubled since the implementation of the respective FTAs, he added.