India Halves RoDTEP Benefits, Exporters Face Rising Cost Pressure

• India has reduced RoDTEP scheme benefits by 50% through a Directorate General of Foreign Trade notification (No. 60 dated February 23, 2026).
• The reduction applies to both notified rates and value caps across all applicable tariff lines.
• Trade economist Professor Biswajit Dhar links the cut to lower budgetary allocation for FY27.
• Ajay Srivastava, Founder of GTRI, states RoDTEP refunds embedded taxes, not an export subsidy, permitted by WTO rules.
• Experts warn that reduced benefits will increase exporters' costs, impacting competitiveness and potentially discouraging smaller firms amidst weak global demand.