Centre Reviews Impact of Iran-Israel Conflict, Assures Trade Support
Inter-ministerial meet assesses logistics impact, vows continuity of Exim flows
New Delhi: Sensing a possible impact on exports in the West Asian region on India’s trade following the ongoing Iran and Israel conflicts, the Centre on Monday held inter-ministerial deliberations with exporters and logistics players to assess the impact. The government, however, assured all measures to mitigate any disruptions, if any.
The government also reiterated its readiness to facilitate trade operations, including procedural flexibility in export-related authorisations in cases of genuine disruption; coordination with customs authorities to ensure smooth clearance; and engagement with financial and insurance institutions to support exporter interests.
The move of the government comes after the US and Israel jointly launched military strikes on Iran on Saturday. In response, Iran fired back drones and missiles at Israel and US military installations around the Gulf, and also at the global business hub of Dubai. The meeting on exports and its measures following the fallout of West Asian conflicts was called by the Department of Commerce under the Commerce Ministry.
After consulting with all stakeholder ministries, key logistics and trade facilitation partners to review the emerging geopolitical situation and its potential impact on the export ecosystem, the ministry said that stakeholders presented an assessment of the evolving operational environment, including routing and transit-time changes, vessel scheduling adjustments, container/equipment availability, freight and insurance cost trends, and implications for time-sensitive exports.
The participants mostly emphasised on India’s export-import (Exim) cargo flows, saying that there is a need to maintain predictability in cargo movement, minimise avoidable delays, and ensure seamless documentation and payment processes for exporters and importers. “The department reiterated the Government of India's priority of ensuring continuity of Exim logistics and mitigating any disruptions to India's trade flows,” the department said.
The department further said that the approach would remain facilitative and coordinated, with a focus on maintaining supply chain resilience, protecting the interests of exporters-particularly MSMEs-with a view that essential imports required for domestic production and consumption are not adversely affected.
Mechanisms for facilitation of time-sensitive export segments such as perishables, pharmaceuticals, and high-value manufactured exports were also discussed. “During the meeting, it was agreed amongst the stakeholders to maintain close, real-time coordination for monitoring route and capacity developments, surcharges, and equipment availability,” it said.
