Import

Trump's tariffs bring cheer to Maga base, but hurt US jobs and industry

The tariff wars that Trump has unleashed overlook his country's biggest competitive advantage - and may even irreparably harm it in the future

Trump tariffs: Govt sets up working group to monitor possible import surge

The commerce ministry is stepping up efforts to help exporters explore new markets to push outbound shipments while also setting up a working group to monitor possible surge in imports from countries like China to tackle the impact of sweeping tariffs announced by the US, source said. The ministry is also fast-tracking formulation of its export promotion mission to support exporters in areas such as providing credit at affordable rates; and negotiations of proposed free trade agreements with the European Union, Oman, New Zealand and the UK. Additionally, concerned officials have been directed to hold a series of bilateral meetings with the identified 20 countries such as Australia, Brazil, China, and France for pushing India's exports. These developments come at a time when exporters and industries have raised concerns that the additional 26 per cent import duty imposed by the US on India may hurt them. The identified 20 countries are Australia, Brazil, Bangladesh, China, France, .

Medical device body asks Centre to revisit import duty reduction talks

This comes just days after economic think tank GTRI had asked government officials to seek reciprocity and improve market access for the Indian medical devices sector

Centre bans import, sale of 2 antibiotic classes for use in animal rearing

Health ministry bans use of all formulations containing chloramphenicol and nitrofurans in any food-producing animal rearing system over concerns of misuse

Govt imposes import curbs on platinum alloy with less than 99% purity

The government on Wednesday imposed import curbs on platinum alloy with less than 99 per cent purity to curb illicit imports of this precious metal blended with significant amounts of gold. Importers of such platinum alloys are now required to obtain import authorisation from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) for the inbound shipments. The decision follows cases where this alloy blended with significant amounts of gold was imported to exploit the tariff differential between gold and platinum. "Import policy of platinum...is revised from free to restricted except for platinum alloy of 99 per cent or more purity by weight of platinum," the DGFT said in a notification. To ensure a smooth supply of platinum for jewellery manufacturing and industrial use, the government allows the unrestricted import of platinum alloy with 99 per cent or higher purity of platinum. Economic think tank GTRI last year sought urgent review of India-UAE trade, the pact stating that the agreeme

Trump shrugs off EU's reported plans for US-style import curbs on food

Early targets could include US crops such as soybeans grown using pesticides that EU farmers are not allowed to use

India's natural gas consumption to rise 60%, imports double by 2030: IEA

Expanding city gas distribution, rising compressed natural gas infrastructure behind rise

Import stats for gold, silver, electronics lowered for April-November

The government has also revised the electronics import value for this period downward by $2.7 billion to $61.2 billion

Sri Lanka announces to lift vehicles import ban for first time in 4 years

Sri Lanka has announced that they will lift the vehicles import ban which was put in place in 2020 to ease the pressure on foreign exchange reserves due to the COVID-19 pandemic. By the gazette issued on Wednesday the importation of public transport vehicles have been allowed for the first time since early 2020. The Ministry of Finance said the policy to ban vehicle imports was implemented with the intention of easing the pressure on foreign exchange reserves due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic downturn of 2022. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake addressing Parliament on Wednesday said the importing cars for private use will be allowed from February 2025. However, the decision is subject to rules so as to protect the island nation's effort to build foreign reserves. All importers must sell their imports within three months, if not a three per cent fee would be charged. These conditions have been imposed with the intention of safeguarding foreign exchange reserves of the

Imports from UAE, S Africa, Switzerland grew in triple digits in Nov

Contraction in merchandise exports in November was led by dip in shipments to the US, the Netherlands, China, and Bangladesh

Centre grants one year extension for select IT hardware import system

Govt to monitor local manufacturing under PLI before imposing any import curbs

Political turmoil unlikely to impact Korea's trade with India for now

During the first six months of the current financial year, India exported goods worth $2.87 billion to South Korea, while imports stood at $10.62 billion

Huge import opportunities for UK apparel companies in India: AEPC

Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) on Sunday said huge import opportunities are there for British apparel firms in India and they should participate in large numbers in the upcoming mega textile show here next year. Bharat Tex 2025 will be held here from February 14-17, 2025, at Bharat Mandapam and from February 12-15 next year at the India Expo Centre and Mart in Greater Noida. Companies will showcase the entire textile value chain, with a special focus on key sectors such as Handicrafts, Apparel Machinery, Chemicals, and Dyes. AEPC Chairman Sudhir Sekhri said that the UK is a global fashion hub and the sixth largest importer of apparel, with a total import value of USD 20.27 billion in 2023. "India, with its robust textile and apparel sector, has long been a trusted partner for the UK. In the past year (2023) alone, India's exports to the UK reached USD 1.2 billion, securing a 6.14 per cent share of the UK's textile and apparel market," he said. Exports of ready-made garmen

India's gold imports jump 21.78% to $27 bn in Apr-Sep due to strong demand

The country's gold imports, which have a bearing on the country's current account deficit (CAD), rose by 21.78 per cent to USD 27 billion during April-September this fiscal due to strong domestic demand, according to the government data. The imports stood at USD 22.25 billion in April-September 2023-24. An industry expert said that the ongoing festival demand is helping the increase in imports. In 2023-24, India's gold imports surged 30 per cent to USD 45.54 billion. Switzerland is the largest exporter of gold, with about 40 per cent share, followed by the UAE (over 16 per cent) and South Africa (about 10 per cent). The precious metal accounts for over 5 per cent of the country's total imports. The jump in gold imports pushed the country's trade deficit (difference between imports and exports) to USD 137.44 billion during the first half of the current fiscal compared to USD 119.24 billion during April-September 2023. India is the world's second-biggest gold consumer after China.

Trade deficit eases to $20.8 bn in Sept amid geopolitical challenges

Exports stood at $34.58 billion in September, while imports were at $55.36 billion during the month

China emerges as India's top import source during Apr-Sep of FY24

China has emerged as India's top import source with USD 56.29 billion worth of inbound shipments during the April-September period of this fiscal, according to the commerce ministry data. During the period, the US emerged as the top export destination for the country with outbound shipments increasing by 5.62 per cent to USD 40.38 billion. The imports from China rose by 11.5 per cent during the first half of this fiscal. The imports stood at USD 50.48 billion during April-September 2023. During the period, the top 10 import sources of India were China, Russia, the UAE, the US, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Korea, Switzerland and Singapore, the data showed. Imports from Russia rose to USD 32.18 billion during April-September this fiscal from USD 30.43 billion a year ago. Similarly, the inbound shipments from the UAE rose to USD 31.46 billion from USD 20.70 billion in the first half of the last fiscal. During the period, the top 10 export destinations of the country were the US, t

India's coal import rises 11% to 121.1 million tonnes in Apr-Aug period

India's coal import rose 11.4 per cent to 121.1 million tonnes (MT) in the April-August period of the ongoing fiscal year. The country had imported 108.7 MT coal in the corresponding period of the previous year. According to data compiled by B2B e-commerce platform mjunction, "During April-August 2024, total coal and coke imports stood at 121.18 MT, around 11.4 per cent higher than 108.74 MT imported during the same period last year." However, coal import in August rose 5.4 per cent to 20.70 MT over 19.63 MT a year earlier. Of the total import in August 2024, non-coking coal import was at 13.04 MT, against 11.89 MT, while coking coal import was at 4.53 MT, against 4.62 MT a year ago. During April-August, non-coking coal import was at 78.68 MT, higher than 68.58 MT imported during the same period last financial year. Coking coal import was at 24.79 MT, almost flat against 24.85 MT recorded in the year-ago period. "Surplus availability of domestic coal in the system along with dwin

The CGST rules: Helpful amendments, court decisions for exporters

CBIC had issued its circular prescribing the procedures for the payment of IGST and compensation cess (CC) along with interest by the importers who had violated the pre-import condition

DGTR initiates dumping investigation on six products imported from China

India has initiated a probe into alleged dumping of as many as six products, including certain chemicals, and cold rolled electrical steel and black toner powder cartridge, imported from China following separate complaints from domestic players. The commerce ministry's investigation arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) is probing the dumping of 1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane or R-134a; Acrylonitrile Butadiene Rubber; certain Antioxidants; polytetrafluoroethylene; black toner powder cartridge; and colled rolled non-oriented electrical steel from China. According to six separate notifications, the applicants have alleged that material injury is being caused to the domestic industry due to the dumped imports of these products originating in or exported from China into India. They have requested for imposition of anti-dumping duty on these imports with a view to guard them from cheap imports. SRF Ltd has filed an application for initiation of an anti-dumping investigation on the

Govt expected to extend import management system for laptops, tablets

The government is expected to extend the existing import management system for imports of certain IT hardware products including laptops and tablets for three months, an official source said. The deadline for review of the system is September 30. The official said that these imports stood at USD 8.4 billion in 2023-24 against the authorisation of about USD 9.5 billion. Most of these imports were coming from China. In October last year, the government rolled out an import management/ authorisation for imports of laptops, personal computers and certain other IT hardware products. The system is aimed at monitoring inbound shipments of these items into the country without hurting market supply. The importers are allowed to apply for multiple authorisations and those authorisations would be valid up to September 30, 2024. The authorisations will be issued for any number of consignments for imports till September. On November 1, 2023, the government cleared over 100 applications, includ