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The customs duty reduction announced in the Budget on products such as motorcycles and synthetic flavouring essences would benefit American exports, economic think tank GTRI said on Sunday. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that despite the repeated criticism of India as the biggest tariff abuser and tariff king by the Trump-administration, the country's Budget has introduced significant tariff reductions on multiple products, many of which benefit the US exports. "With key tariff cuts on technology, automobiles, industrial inputs, and waste imports, India appears to be taking steps toward facilitating trade even as the global trade environment remains tense. Whether these reductions will alter Washington's view of India's trade practices or become a point of contention in the US election cycle remains to be seen," it added. Among the key tariff reductions, India lowered the duty on fish hydrolysate for the manufacturing of aquatic feed from 15 per cent to 5 per cent,
Pakistan needs to repay a whopping USD 77.5 billion in external debt from April 2023 to June 2026 and the cash-strapped country may face "disruptive effects if it ultimately defaults, a prominent US think tank has warned. The analysis published on Thursday by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) warned that amid skyrocketing inflation, political conflicts, and rising terrorism, Pakistan is facing the risk of a default due to its massive external debt obligations, the Geo News reported on Friday. Pakistan, currently tackling a major economic crisis, is grappling with high external debt, a weak local currency and dwindling foreign exchange reserves. The USIP report called the USD 77.5 billion that Pakistan needs to repay in external debt from April 2023 to June 2026 a hefty amount for a USD 350 billion economy. It stated that if Pakistan ultimately defaults, there will be a cascade of disruptive effects. In the next three years, the debt-struck country has to make major ...