The Hindu Business Line : Rising rupee impact: Package likely for exporters soon

New Delhi June 22 Exporters groaning under the gruelling impact of an appreciating rupee vis-à-vis the dollar could look for some modicum of relief as the Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are directly engaged in hammering out a solution to cushion the harsh effects on their earnings.

Disclosing this to Business Line here in an interview, the Commerce Secretary, Mr Gopal K. Pillai, said that after the Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Kamal Nath, interacted with export promotion councils, he sent a letter to the Prime Minister about the views voiced by the exporting community.

He said the Prime Minister had taken up the matter with the Finance Minister and the RBI, and "we do hope of some positive steps" to result from this joint efforts.

Asked about the success stories of only two sectors viz, petroleum products and engineering goods exports, in the country's overall salutary export performance last fiscal, he said that the Department is pushing up a number of sectors such as agri exports, gem and jewellery and leather exports. "I am quite confident that overall once the rupee appreciation part of it stabilises, export thrust will continue (in other segments too)".

`SEZ here to stay'

To a specific query about the continued criticism of special economic zones (SEZs) being a land grab and real estate proposition as alleged by the scheme's detractors, the Commerce Secretary asserted that "SEZs are here to stay as formally approved SEZs today stand at 339''.

This means 339 SEZs lands are already in the hands of the developers, and tomorrow if the SEZ policy is scrapped 339 SEZs with lands would be functioning, he said.

In order to dispel the fears of farmers losing their prime land for SEZs, Mr Pillai, as Chairman of the Board of Approval for SEZs, said: "In the case of any compulsory acquisition, consent of all the farmers have to be taken and even if one farmer objects, the acquisition cannot take place".

Stating that the SEZs would continue to hold its sway, Mr Pillai said: "We believe that in the current situation where there is intense global competition, SEZs provide that small measure of comfort for the exporting community." On the issue of Reliance Industries-promoted Navi Mumbai multiproduct SEZ clearance which has been postponed a few times when it came before the board, Mr Pillai said that "the clarification from the State Government has come and we have sent this to all other members of the Board for their comments and it might come up for consideration in the Board's next meeting on July 12, 2007".

G4 negotiations

To a query about the collapse of G4 and India's position in the trade negotiations, Mr Pillai said that the negotiations would now shift to Geneva. He said the Agriculture Chair is expected to come out with a second set of papers and the non-agricultural market access (NAMA) chair has not presented its report.

"It is likely that the NAMA chair will present what is called the challenge paper by the first week of July. My own assessment is that the WTO Director General, Mr Pascal Lamy, will call the trade ministers meeting by the end of July 2007 to take their views".

Mr Pillai said that the first round of negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) between India and the European Union, providing for freer trade in goods, services and investment, would begin in Brussels on June 28-29, 2007.

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