After the US imposed a 50% fee on Indian exports, India’s leading export organizations today met senior officials of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In this meeting, exporters demanded a variety of relief and discounts to save business and deal with this unexpected crisis. The most prominent of their demands is Metorium up to one year on loan payment, relaxation of NPA criteria and pursuing the date of loan without any fine.
Ajay Sahay, Director General and Chief Executive Officer of FIO, an organization of exporters, stated that there are two main demands of exporters: one, relief from the direct impact of the 50% fee, and the other, resolving important banking issues for exporters. The US has imposed a 50% fee on India since August 27, 2025, making it extremely difficult for Indian exporters to compete in the US market.
Major demands: debt and liquidity
Exporters have appealed to the RBI to give them enough time to overcome this crisis. Their main demands include:
Moratorium on loan payment: Exporters have demanded a stay on the principal and interest payment of their existing loans for at least one year. They argue that this will give them a “place of breath” to reorganize their functioning and work on new market strategies.
NPA criteria: Exporters have requested RBI to relax the NPA (non-performing assets) criteria. They believe that many small and medium enterprises (MSME) can default due to declining earnings due to US fee. The relaxation of NPA rules will prevent them from immediate bankruptcy.
Priority sector sub-region: Exporters have demanded banks to create a sub-grade for exporters under “Priority Sector Lending” to increase the flow of loans from banks. He says that despite being more than 20% of exports in GDP (GDP), the sector is not getting adequate loans from banks.
Pankaj Chadha, chairman of the Indian Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC), also requested to launch an Interest Subvention Scheme for MSME, so that he could remain competitive in international markets.
Exchange rate and government assistance
Another important issue that was raised in the meeting was the exchange rate of rupee. Exporters appealed to the RBI to allow the rupee to fall naturally, so that they could compensate for some extent for the damage caused by the US fee. He argues that despite the weakening of the rupee against the dollar, the rupee has also softened against other currencies, making them not benefiting any significant benefit.
According to sources, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra listened seriously to the concerns of the exporters, but did not commit to any special action immediately. However, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has already indicated that the government is working on a comprehensive package to support Indian exporters affected by the US fee. This package will probably focus on liquidity aid, employment safety and help to enter new markets.
The meeting included major business organizations like Fio, CII, FICCI, Assocham. This shows that the impact of the US fee is quite widespread and both the government and the central bank are taking steps to deal with this challenge.
