US-India deal to allow structural support to MSMEs: CM Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said the proposed India-US trade agreement would significantly strengthen the State’s export-based economy, provide structural support to MSMEs and labour-intensive industries, and create long-term opportunities for investment and employment.

Reacting to the tariff joint statement issued under the proposed agreement, the chief minister said the framework was the result of the “strong and visionary leadership” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and would expand global opportunities for Indian exporters while safeguarding farmers’ interests and the rural economy. “Under the strong and visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has reached a framework for an interim trade agreement with the United States. This framework expands global opportunities for Indian exporters and MSMEs, while simultaneously safeguarding India’s agriculture sector, food security, the interests of our farmers and the strength of the rural economy,” Adityanath said in a statement. He said the agreement would also strengthen the ‘Make in India’ initiative and generate employment opportunities for women and youth.  The tariff joint statement has provided an important policy signal for Uttar Pradesh at a time when the State Government is working on a strategy to link labour-intensive industries, MSMEs and cluster-based manufacturing with global supply chains, officials said. Under the framework, US tariffs on Indian products are proposed to be reduced from an average of about 50 per cent to 18 per cent, with zero duty in selected categories.

The reduction in tariffs on textiles and apparel, and zero-duty benefits for silk-based products, is expected to benefit labour-intensive and cluster-based regions of the State.