The Indian government jolted global markets on 29th September, by banning all onion exports from the country virtually overnight. This massive step, spurred by delayed harvests and reduced supplies because of extended rains across the country, sent shockwaves across commodity prices in Asia and elsewhere. India is the world’s largest onion exporter, and the ban on exports, aimed at controlling domestic inflation, has sent global traders into a tizzy and evoked a fresh series of protests by Indian farmers claiming damages to their livelihoods. In yet another shocking development, India lost a key trade dispute with the US at the WTO this week. The US had claimed that India’s export subsidies were illegal, and the WTO’s dispute settlement panel upheld the claim. India will now likely be forced to reevaluate its export promotion schemes, particularly the widely used MEIS. Given the government’s push to overhaul Indian exports and make them less reliant on subsidies, perhaps this shock might be just what the sector needs. One only hopes it does not cripple the sector at a time when it is already facing global headwinds. It was not all bad news, however. At its Annual General Meeting, the Export Promotion Council for EOUs and SEZs (EPCES) revealed that India’s SEZs had registered remarkable 32x growth in exports over the last decade, shipping Rs. 7,01,179 crore of goods in 2018-19. At a separate event, MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari also highlighted the contribution of MSMEs to India’s GDP and recommended that they list themselves on the NSE to access more capital easily. With the new foreign trade policy expected to be around the corner, it is do-or-die time for India’s exports. One only hopes that the shock therapy measures being considered/implemented by the government are the right solution.