Indian exporters, hurt by punitive rates imposed by the US, have sought a moratorium for repayments of loans and a favorable exchange rate of the country’s central bank in a closed-door meeting with top officials, two sources that are familiar with the issue of Thursday.
US President Donald Trump laid down punishing rates last month to 50 percent on Indian export, achieving a wide range of industries and encourages the government to come up with a rescue plan to alleviate the blow.
Sectors such as textiles, chemicals, gems and jewelry and fishing are expected to be the worst hit and can be forced to reduce jobs because they are confronted with uncertainty about ordering flows and clambering to find new buyers in markets in Europe, Africa and Asia.
Exportors are looking for a 12-month moratorium about principal and interest payments on their loans, according to a written request from the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) that was assessed by Reuters.
The lobby in the industry has also searched for a collateral credit guarantee scheme, such as it offered to small companies during the COVID-19 crisis, where the government guarantees part of a loan, which gives banks comfort to continue to borrow to these companies.
“With this breathing space, exporters can calibrate the activities again,” the Fieo said in the memorandum, adding that this would help prevent standard values and to guarantee financial health in the long term of export -oriented companies.
India is preparing measures to help exporters tackle the crisis, even if the US and India look at resuming negotiations to tackle trade barriers, Reuters reported earlier.
Until now, no measures or agreements have been announced to reduce rates.
Some export organizations have also sought a more favorable exchange rate for their dollar ownership, according to one of the sources.
Their requests include the sale of dollars against the real effective exchange rate (reer) of the rupid in contrast to the spotting rate.
The reer is an inflation-corrected exchange rate against a basket with currency of trading countries and not just against the dollar.
At the moment that rate is about 15% higher than the exchange rate of the spot rupees/dollar and exporters will help to get more out of their dollar ownership, according to the source.
A spokesperson for the reserve Bank of India did not immediately respond to a question from Reuters.
Banks reluctant
Indian banks “are prepared” to help New Delhi to put together a tax package for exporters, but will probably reduce deferred repayments of loans, according to two sources in the banking sector.
Banks are to every plan that would include a moratorium, one of these sources said.
Financial institutions have been asked to borrow generally to exporters, with the certainty of the government for sufficient support in the event of stress, this source said.
Published on September 12, 2025
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