US Tariff Crisis: Kerala to Submit Memorandum to Centre, says Minister

KOCHI:
The Kerala government will include recommendations by leaders of the state’s commercial sector while submitting a detailed memorandum to the Centre on measures to ward off the setbacks resulting from the US decision to impose 50 per cent duty on imports from India, Industries Minister P Rajeeve said today.

At a meeting convened here by the Industries Department with representatives of the export-oriented segment of the sector, the minister said the new crisis is likely to affect Kerala’s economy even as the state accounts for a just one per cent of the country’s exports to the US.

“True, the state has limitations on what can we do in this regard, but we want to work by understanding the needs and stance of the export-oriented industry sector,” he said, extending the government’s “promise to do everything” within the limits.

“This situation is a clear example of the failure of globalisation,” said Mr Rajeeve, who is also in charge of law and coir. “If we stand together, we can overcome the crisis.”

Stressing the need for “more utilisation” of the domestic market, he said working with the members of the Malayali diaspora platform ‘Loka Kerala Sabha’ could help find new markets.

The industrialists at the meeting described the crisis from America as “very serious”, stressing the need for parallel markets instead of waiting for the problems to resolve. Noting that Malayalis are a presence is almost every country today, the representatives called for a state-level model of the Export Promotion Council of India to find new markets.

The meeting, which was attended by more than 100 representatives from various export-oriented sectors, commended the state’s efforts to understand the situation of industrialists.

Pointing out that the Union government had cut several of the subsidies for the export sector in the past few years, the representatives called upon the authorities to reduce the RoDTEP (Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products) to four per cent as in the past. Such a step can help overcome crisis “to some extent”, they said, calling the present situation “special”.

The representatives proposed the appointment of a nodal officer from Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) to avail the benefits of the Central schemes. They also wanted a concession on the electricity rates and subsidies in labour welfare schemes.

The new crisis has made banks reluctant in providing loans, the representatives said, calling for the Industries Department to intervene and take a sympathetic approach. There is a possibility of huge job losses in the fishing sector and the seafood processing sector, they noted. The seafood export sector demanded diesel subsidy for fishermen and other employment opportunities for women workers in processing units.

The participants at today’s meeting included KSIDC Chairman C Balagopal, Executive Director R Hari Krishnan, Handloom & Textiles Director K S Kripa Kumar, Industries Department Additional Director G Rajeev, and KSIDC General Manager Varghese Malakkaran. A P M Mohammed Hanish, Principal Secretary, Department of Industries and Commerce, and members of the State Planning Board attended the meeting online.