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Foreign Trade Policy
The government on Wednesday launched Rs 4,531 crore market access support for exporters under which financial support will be provided to participate in activities such as international fairs and exhibitions. It will help exporters at some time when they are facing a steep 50 per cent tariff by the US. The measure is a part of the Rs 25,060-crore export promotion mission. Under the Market Access Support, Rs 4,531 crore will be allocated over six years (2025-31) and Rs 500 crore has been earmarked for 2025-26. Director General of Foreign Trade Ajay Bhadoo said under the measure structured financial and institutional support will be provided for activities including Buyer-Seller Meets (BSMs), participation in international trade fairs and exhibitions, Mega Reverse Buyer-Seller Meets (RBSMs) organised in India. A forward-looking three-to-five-year calendar of major market access events will be prepared and approved in advance, enabling exporters and organising agencies to plan ...
The Commerce Ministry's Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) will "very" soon start a course on negotiations, as this is an important skill set required in areas like free trade agreements, a top government official said on Saturday. Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal also said that Abhijit Das-authored "Strategies in GATT and WTO Negotiations" book can be a starting textbook in the Center for WTO Studies and IIFT. While releasing Das's book, he said there was previously no publication that provided a comprehensive perspective on trade negotiations. "When we look at these issues in the Department of Commerce, we always felt that there is a need for a negotiation course, which IIFT will be starting very soon," the secretary said. With the increasing number of free trade agreements, negotiating skills are going to be key in the coming days as it involves officials from different departments. India is negotiating several agreements including with the US, the UK, Oman, Australia, Pe
India on Tuesday notified exports of specified quantities of commodities like eggs, potatoes, onions, rice, wheat flour, sugar, and dal for the Maldives in the current fiscal year. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in a notification said these exports have been permitted to the Maldives under the bilateral trade agreement between the countries in 2025-26. "Export of eggs, potatoes, onions, rice, wheat flour, sugar, dal, stone aggregate and river sand to Maldives has been permitted under the bilateral trade agreement between India and Maldives for 2025-26," the DGFT said in a notification. The export of these items to the Maldives will be exempted from any existing or future restriction/prohibition during this period. Items which are restricted or prohibited will be allowed only through the six designated customs ports including Mundra, Tuticorin, and Kandla. The specified quantity allowed includes potatoes (22,589 tonnes), onions (37,537 tonnes), rice (1,30,429 tonne
The government has lifted the export ban on broken rice to promote its shipments. The ban was imposed in September 2022. "Export policy of broken rice has been amended from prohibited to free with immediate effect," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade has said in a notification. Exporters have earlier urged the government to permit the shipments due to the rise in inventories. Last year, the government removed the minimum export price (MEP) of USD 490 per tonne on overseas shipments of non-basmati white rice and withdrew a blanket ban on the shipments of this variety. These measures came at a time when the country has ample rice stock at government godowns and retail prices are also under control. The export restriction was imposed as the Russia-Ukraine war had disrupted the foodgrain supply chain. Though there was a ban on exports, the government allowed the shipments to friendly and needy countries on a request basis. In 2023-24, India exported broken rice worth USD 194.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has made amendments to the Foreign Trade Policy to make consultations with stakeholders for their views on draft policies mandatory, an official statement said on Friday. The changes also provide the mechanism to inform reasons for not accepting views, suggestions, comments or feedback concerning the formulation or amendment of the Foreign Trade Policy, the commerce ministry said. "The DGFT on Thursday notified amendment in the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023, to include Para...to bring legal backing in the FTP to make it necessary to do consultation with stakeholders to seek views, suggestions, comments or feedback from relevant stakeholders, including importers/exporters/industry experts concerning the formulation or amendment of the FTP," it said. The key objective of the amendments is to encourage the participation of all stakeholders in the decision-making process before introducing or changing policy and procedures affecting the ...
The rupee traded in a narrow range on Wednesday and appreciated 2 paise to 83.96 against the American currency, on easing crude oil prices and tracking its Asian peers. Forex traders said foreign institutional inflows, alongside significant corrections in asset classes like the dollar index and crude oil prices, supported the rupee, while the Reserve Bank's active intervention kept the rupee in a tight range. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit moved in a narrow range. It opened at 83.97 against the American currency and was at 83.96 in initial trade, registering a rise of 2 paise over its previous close. On Tuesday, the rupee depreciated 3 paise to close at 83.98 against the American currency. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.21 per cent to 101.42 points. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was trading higher by 0.48 per cent to USD 69.52 per barrel in futures trade. Forex
This probably wasn't how President Joe Biden envisioned his big foreign policy week ending. Biden spent much of the time trying to make the case to world leaders at the UN General Assembly as well as to Democratic donors and voters that his decades of foreign policy experience and demonstrated moral clarity set him apart from Donald Trump, the early front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination. But just as Biden is looking to spotlight his foreign policy chops with his 2024 reelection bid heating up, he is facing a growing list of national security headaches, several of which emerged in recent days. There is a diplomatic spat between US allies Canada and India over the killing of a Sikh activist on Canadian soil, growing concern about the future of US funding for Ukraine, and the indictment of the influential chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J. Each will test Biden and his administration. Menendez and his wife were indicted Frida