Page 5 - Import Tariffs

Govt eases import curbs on some silver items for certain industries

The government on Monday eased import curbs for some silver items like semi-manufactured silver paste, sheets, and tubes for electrical, electronics and solar industries, to be used as inputs for their manufacturing process. The import of these items for R&D purposes by the government or government-recognised institutions shall also be without restrictions, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification. Earlier, the import of these goods was put under the restricted category, which mandates importers to seek a license from the government for inbound shipments. "Import of semi-manufactured silver paste, sheets, plates, strips, tubes, electrodes, wires, silver brazing alloys (in any form), by electrical, electronics and engineering industries, including glass and solar industries, as input for their own manufacturing process on 'actual user' basis shall be free," it said. Import of these items for any other purposes shall be through specified agencies as ...

Call of duty: Maruti Suzuki chairman advocates for low car tariffs in FTAs

The govt and Maruti believe the Indian car industry is no longer an infant and can face low-duty imports through FTAs, but not everyone is sure

US, Korea raise concerns on India's import restrictions on laptops, PCs

The US, China, Korea and Chinese Taipei have raised concerns on India's decision to impose import restrictions on laptops, and computers, in a meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), an official said. The concern was flagged in the meeting of WTO's Committee on Market Access. It was chaired by Renata Crisaldo of Paraguay on October 16, in Geneva. The US has stated that the decision will have an impact on trade of these products, including US exports to India, once they are implemented, the Geneva-based official said. America has also said that the decision is creating uncertainty for exporters and downstream users. On August 3, India imposed import restrictions on a host of IT hardware products as laptops, personal computers (including tablet computers), micro computers, large or mainframe computers, and certain data processing machines with a view to boost domestic manufacturing and cut imports from countries like China. The regime would come into effect from November ...

Overall trade gains may be limited for India in FTA with UK: GTRI

Negotiations for the FTA are in the final stages, with both countries engaged in weekly discussions

Swift removal of non-tariff barriers key to trn-dollar exports: GTRI rpt

India needs to act in a fast-track manner for removal of non-trade barriers (NTBs), being faced by domestic exporters in different countries like the US, China and Japan, to achieve one trillion dollar outbound shipment target for goods by 2030, a report by think-tank GTRI said on Tuesday. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has suggested a two-pronged strategy to mitigate the influence of NTBs on exports. It asked for upgrading domestic systems, in cases where Indian products are rejected due to quality issues; and retaliating if unreasonable standards or rules continue to obstruct exports from New Delhi. "Many of India's exports suffer due to time taking prior registration requirements and unreasonable domestic standards/rules in many countries. India must talk to partner countries for reasonable solutions, GTRI Co-founder Ajay Srivastava said. He added that many of India's food and agriculture products face problems due to higher pesticide levels, presence of pests and .

After laptops, cameras and printers may be next in line for import curbs

For FY23, India's total merchandise imports stood at $714 billion, which is 16.5% more than last year. This has resulted in a rising current account deficit

Rationalise tariff on mobile parts to encourage other countries: Industry

Vietnam's weighted average tariff, taking into consideration its sprawling FTAs with countries, is a mere 1.1 per cent against India's 7 per cent

'Interest demand in pre-import regularisation cases can be contested'

The CBIC Circular referred to above says that the bill of entry will be assessed again and then you have to make the IGST payment

DGTR reviews need to continue anti-dumping duty on Chinese flax yarn

The commerce ministry's investigation arm DGTR has initiated a probe to review the need to continue the anti-dumping duty on flax yarn imported from China, following complaints from the domestic industry. Grasim Industries Ltd and Sintex Industries have filed an application before the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) for initiation of the sunset review of the anti-dumping duty imposed on imports of 'flax yarn of below 70 lea count' exported from China to India. Lea is a unit for measuring the length of yarn. Normally it is taken as 80 yards for wool, 120 yards for cotton and silk, and 300 yards for linen. Flax yarn is used to make flax fabrics, which is used in apparel and home textiles. DGTR in a notification has said prima facie there is an evidence of dumping of the product from China in spite of the existing anti-dumping duties. On the basis of the duly substantiated application of the applicants and "having satisfied itself, on the basis of the prima facie evidenc

US body welcomes govt's budget proposal to reduce import tariffs on pecan

America's National Pecan Federation has welcomed the annual budgetary proposal of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to reduce the import duty on pecan by 70 per cent, a move it said would benefit thousands of farmers in the country, especially in Georgia. This is great news for the pecan industry, Larry Don Womack, chairman of National Pecan Federation (NPF), said after Sitharaman in her budget proposed to reduce the import tariff on pecan from 100 per cent to just 30 per cent. The federation, in a statement on Thursday, described it as a significant positive change for the pecan industry that opens the US pecan export market to India. Pecans are grown in 15 states and have a significant impact on these rural economies. Opening the India market will be a great opportunity for our industry to expand and grow, Womack said. Over the last few years, the NPF had been working with pecan growers, lawmakers and US trade representatives asking them to urge India to reduce the tariff

India will cut import tariff on pecans by 70 per cent: Senator Jon Ossoff

India has agreed to reduce the import tariff on pecans by 70 per cent, said an influential American Senator, who has been campaigning on it for the last one year. Senator Jon Ossoff, who represents Georgia in the US Senate and met seven times with India's Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu over the last year, on Wednesday said that the reduction in tariff on pecans would help the farmers in his constituency. Today I can announce that after a year of painstaking diplomacy, the Indian government will cut that tariff by 70 per cent. This is a huge win for Georgia pecan farmers, and it wouldn't be possible without them, Ossoff said. Ossoff said India's high pecan tariffs have prevented Georgia pecan exports to this market of more than one billion consumers. He thanked US Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai for her steadfast support, Sandhu for his constructive engagement, Senator Warnock for his teamwork, and Georgia's farmers for their perseverance to secure this ...

India's E&P policy should be liberalised for metals, minerals: Anil Agarwal

The country continues to pay hefty import bills year after year even as the nation is gifted with significant reserves of metals and minerals, the metals and mining magnate noted.

Biden close to rollback of Chinese tariffs to fight inflation: Report

It would mark US President's first major policy step on trade ties between the world's two biggest economic powers

Ukraine, UK sign preferential trade deal; abolish import duty, tariff quota

"Ukraine and the UK have legally enshrined the abolition of import duties and tariff quotas in bilateral trade by signing an agreement," the ministry was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency

India should drop its high foreign liquor taxes, says France's Pernod

The 150% tax on imported liquor has long been a sore point for the industry, and poses a "large challenge" for Pernod Ricard, South Asia CEO Thibault Cuny said

India likely to offer lower import tariffs on premium Australian wine

This will be part of an early harvest agreement; officials hope to finalise the interim trade pact by end of this month

Import tariff needs to be halved to for competitiveness: Montek Ahluwalia

Bringing down import tariffs by at least 50 per cent holds the key to achieve competitiveness in India, Ahluwalia said

Tariff uncertainty

Tinkering with rates will put off investment and hurt exports

Best of BS Opinion: Correct course on tariffs, regulating NBFCs, and more

Here's a selection of Business Standard opinion pieces for the day

Correct course on tariffs

Union Budget must avoid failed strategy of protectionism