Round-table discussion planned on Friday on implications of U.S. tariff policies for Kerala

A round-table discussion is being organised in the capital on Friday at the behest of the State government to identify the sector-specific risks and mitigation strategies in connection with the Kerala-specific implications of the U.S. tariffs on India.

Organised by the Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation, an autonomous institute under the Finance Department (GIFT), and the Kerala State Planning Board, the round table will assess, among other things, the direct and indirect impacts of the “penal tariffs” on Kerala’s export sectors, particularly the agriculture sector, marine products and spice-based commodities.

Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal will inaugurate the round table discussion on ‘The impact of U.S. penal tariffs with a special focus on Kerala’ at Hotel Mascot here on Friday. Earlier this month, Mr. Balagopal had warned that the looming ‘tariff war’ could have harder economic impacts than COVID-19 and urged GIFT to organise the round table to chart the way forward for the State.

The round table aims to generate actionable ideas for strengthening the State’s economic resilience in an era of shifting global alignments and politicised trade by bringing together different stakeholders from academia, industry and policy circles, GIFT said.

“Tariffs on fisheries, coir, textiles, tea, coffee and spices, among others, threaten the rural export economy, while parallel concerns such as potential tightening of U.S. immigration (H1B) policies amplify the risks,” according to GIFT. The double whammy of reduced export demand and softened remittance inflows jeopardise growth prospects, public finances and social stability, it added.

Sector-specific risks, especially for MSME-dominated export clusters, opportunities for trade diversification, value addition and digital market access as strategic responses to trade realignments, will come up for discussion at the event.

It is also expected that a major outcome of the event will be policy recommendations that can be submitted to the State government and the Union Ministry of Commerce.

Representatives of commodity boards, export promotion councils, industry associations, and policy think-tanks are expected at the one-day event.