Global Trade

A new book reviews the global history of how capitalism took over the world

Sven Beckert's sweeping global history reframes capitalism as a centuries-long, often violent world-making force - rich in detail, ambitious in scope, and certain to provoke debate

Politics increasingly trumps economics in present era: Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said politics increasingly "trumps" economics in the present era. Jaishankar was addressing a gathering after being conferred Honorary Doctorate by IIM-Calcutta at its campus here. "This is an era where politics increasingly trumps economics... and that is not a pun, he said. "The United States, long the underwriter of the contemporary system, has set radically new terms of engagement. It is doing so by dealing with countries on a one-on-one basis," Jaishankar said. He also said that China has long played by its own rules, and is doing so even now. The external affairs minister said in the ensuing scenario, other nations are unclear whether attention should be on visible competition or the trade offs and understandings that punctuate it. "Faced with such pulls and pressures of globalisation, of fragmentation and of supply insecurity, the rest of the world responds by hedging against all contingencies," Jaishankar said. He said I

Global South should speak in one voice against trade challenges: Goyal

India on Wednesday called on developing and least developed nations to collectively work to address global trade challenges such as tariff barriers, unilateral environmental restrictions, and hurdles in the services sector. Addressing the 16th session of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said: "It is time for the Global South to speak with one voice on concerns that impact all of us". He said the world is currently volatile, marked by numerous uncertainties, challenges, and ambiguities in the global trading system. "We are living in a world marked by a profound trust deficit, whether in multilateral institutions, different international bodies, amongst nations and multiple critical challenges confront us almost on a daily basis. These challenges are multi-faceted. "It could be the erosion of confidence in the rules based trading system, a lot of non-market practices coming into play, tariff and non-tar

China put in oil markets may reshape global supply, trade dynamics

In recent years, Beijing has pressed state-owned producers to invest in harder-to-access fields to reduce dependence on imports

India is top choice for MNCs to expand trade, investment: StanChart report

A Standard Chartered report shows over 40 per cent of global firms plan to increase trade and investment in India, citing its fast-growing economy, large market, and favourable business reforms

Global trade tensions a threat for domestic ferro alloys sector: IFAPA

Growing trade tensions at global level pose a major threat for the domestic ferro alloys sector, which has raised production capacity over the years, apex industry body IFAPA said urging the government for its intervention. Ferro alloys like silico manganese and ferro chrome, etc, are used by steel makers as deoxidisers and alloying agents, to improve properties like hardness, strength, corrosion resistance, and wear resistance of the commodity. "The domestic ferro alloys industry has raised its productive capacity as well as export potential significantly over the years. However, weakening steel production globally, trade barriers and safeguards and upcoming carbon border taxes pose a major threat to exports, especially for India," Manish Sarda, Chairman, Indian Ferro Alloy Producers' Association (IFAPA) told PTI. India is the world's top exporter of manganese alloys and the third-largest supplier of ferro chrome, he said, adding that this threat or challenge, call it what you will

Global trade challenges need to be turned into opportunities: Prez Murmu

President Droupadi Murmu on Monday said India should leverage its exceptional capabilities to turn the challenges of global trade into new opportunities. Addressing the platinum jubilee of the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC), she pointed out that India's engineering export destinations have changed significantly over the last seven decades. EEPC should continue this process of change and keep working to make India's economy stronger with the spirit of 'Nation First', said the President. She said "the challenges of global trade need to be turned into opportunities by utilising the exceptional capabilities available in our country". She observed that high-quality engineering services and products at low cost are a great strength of India. The President observed that in the last 10 years, India's engineering exports have increased from USD 70 billion to more than USD 115 billion. Murmu said this growth in exports seems even more impressive when "we consider that there hav

BS Infra Summit: India's rise as a global air travel hub takes shape

For a lasting economic momentum and growth, India should build world-class, integrated infrastructure that matches its ambition

Unfair and unwarranted: US action will result in undesirable outcomes

The initial imposition of a higher 25 per cent tariff last week was also devoid of economic logic

Trump tariff may cut chemical, apparel, jewellery exports by 50-70%: GTRI

The imposition of a 50 per cent US tariff on Indian goods will impact exports of nine product categories, including shrimp, organic chemicals, apparel, and jewellery by 50-70 per cent, think tank GTRI said on Thursday. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday slapped an additional 25 per cent tariff, raising the total duties to 50 per cent on goods coming from India, as a penalty for New Delhi's continued purchase of Russian oil. The 50 per cent duty will come into effect from August 27. This is on top of the usual US import duties, called Most Favoured Nation (MFN) tariffs. This decision makes India one of the most heavily taxed US trading partners, worse off than China (30 per cent) or Vietnam (20 per cent), and on par with Brazil. GTRI, in its analysis, has categorised India's export segments in three categories- very high impact sectors (exports may be down by 50-70 per cent), high-impact sectors (exports may be down by 30-50 per cent), and low or no impact areas. In the first .

US tariffs should not be cause for disengaging from trade talks, blocs

The fundamental challenge for the Indian economy is to increase productivity and competitiveness

A shift in mindset: India-UK trade deal paves way for those with EU, US

The question is how much this shift in mindset can be applied now to other trading partners, particularly the European Union (EU)

Trump reaps $50 bn from tariffs as world 'chickens out' from retaliation

Data from the US Treasury shows that the US customs revenue soared significantly in the second quarter to $64 billion, up $47 billion from the same period last year

Strengthen shipping ecosystem to cut crisis risks: Commerce dept secy

India needs to strengthen its shipping ecosystem to reduce vulnerability in times of global crises and promote the country's trade, Special Secretary in the Department of Commerce Rajesh Agrawal said on Thursday. He said Indian flag vessels are very limited in number, and this leads to around USD 50 billion of trade deficit that we do have in the services sector solely due to maritime logistics. Calling the situation "unsustainable" as it also makes India "vulnerable", he said countries which have strong control over logistics systems fare better during global disruptions. "We need to focus on how we have a minimum degree of control over the global logistics ecosystem, which is also necessary to support our international trade as we move towards the 2047 Viksit Bharat goal," he said here at CII's export logistics conclave. The country, he said, has limited control over shipping and air cargo spaces. Citing an example, Agrawal said during Covid times, shippings cost went up multipl

Clarity on global trade issues to decide future investments in India: Cisco

Chuck Robbins says Cisco views India as a key export and R&D hub but will wait for clarity on global trade policies before committing to further investments

As US credibility falters, Asia and Europe must lead global stability

Given that everyone will suffer from these shocks, cooperation to ameliorate them should be a priority, especially for Asia and Europe

Global trade rebound may fade as export orders lose momentum, warns WTO

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) on Thursday said global goods trade posted a strong uptick in early 2025, but weakening export orders suggest that this momentum may not be sustained. According to the WTO's Goods Trade Barometer, the uptick was driven by importers frontloading purchases ahead of anticipated higher tariffs. The barometer rose to 103.5 -- up from 102.8 in March, while the forward-looking new export orders index fell to 97.9, pointing to weaker trade growth later in the year. The barometer is a composite leading indicator for world trade, providing real-time information on the trajectory of merchandise trade relative to recent trends.

Chinese tech giants chase expansion in Brazil amid global trade pressures

As a result, some of China's biggest internet and e-commerce brands have set their sights on establishing themselves as household names in other parts of the world

World Bank urges 'radical' debt transparency to prevent future crises

World Bank wants to broaden the depth and detail of what sovereign countries disclose regarding new loans, as more of them enter complex, off-budget borrowing deals due to global market turmoil

Shell CEO warns of 'huge impact' on trade if Strait of Hormuz blocked

The global energy market has been transfixed by the conflict between Israel and Iran, including the possibility the US may decide to join the assault