Page 2 - Imports

Outdated fertiliser rules favour imports over domestic production: Industry

The government's "outdated" fertiliser regulations are creating an uneven playing field, favouring Chinese imports over domestic manufacturers and undermining the "Make in India" initiative, industry bodies said on Tuesday. The fertiliser control framework's concurrent naturegoverned by both central and state authoritieshas led to numerous amendments but has struggled to keep pace with evolving domestic needs and global developments, gradually coming to be seen as a relic of the legacy "Inspector Raj" and "License Raj", they said. The industry bodies called for comprehensive reforms including implementing "One Nation, One Licence" policies, ensuring regulatory parity between domestic and foreign manufacturers, and capping inspector numbers to two per unit. The Soluble Fertilizer Industry Association (SFIA), in a statement, said a major public sector enterprise recently issued tenders for soluble fertilisers that explicitly excluded "Made in India" products, highlighting how current

China's April exports rise 8.1%, imports dip 0.2% despite slowdown fears

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 1.9 per cent increase in exports and a 5.9 per cent drop in imports

Import ban, shipping restrictions on Pakistan to start showing impact soon

Most shipments from Dubai take about nine days to reach Indian ports; thus, the shipping ban as well as the indirect import ban will only start showing up by this weekend, say experts

No relief from QCO for inputs imported under advance authorisation scheme

Rajagopalan answers SME queries related to GST, export and import matters

Welspun One gets construction loan worth Rs 2.3K crore from Nabfid

The JNPA logistics park, spanning 55 acres, is Welspun One's largest logistics development in India

RBI proposes new regulations for export, import transactions under Fema

In July last year, the RBI had issued the draft, and based on the feedback received from the public and subsequent further consultations with various stakeholders

Delhi HC rejects JSW Steel, Trafigura plea to clear some met coke imports

India from January imposed curbs on imports of low-ash metallurgical coke, or met coke, with country-specific quotas to help domestic suppliers

Ease of imports, company-agnostic norms to be focus of scheme for EV cars

Since the announcement of the scheme, about 4-5 consultations have so far taken place between MHI and stakeholders like original equipment manufacturers

India imports increase 11.3% to 265 million tonnes of coal in FY24

The FY24 import included 59 mt of coking coal and 205 mt of non-coking coal worth ₹1.33 trillion, Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy said on Wednesday

China's exports, imports weaken in Jan-Feb as demand slides amid trade war

China's exports rose a less-than-expected 2.3% in January and February from a year earlier while imports fell more than 8% in a slow start to a year dogged by uncertainty over US tariffs and other policies. Economists had forecast that exports would rise 5% year-on-year and that imports would edge higher. China's overall trade surplus grew to $170.52 billion in the first two months of the year. China's customs agency typically publishes combined trade data for January and February to avoid any distortion from slowdowns during the week-long Lunar New Year holidays. Export growth cooled over the first two months of 2025, with tariff front-running providing less of a boost to demand than we had anticipated, said Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics. This slowdown comes before any substantial hit from tariffs, which will almost certainly lead to sharp falls in shipments to the US before long, he said. Evans-Pritchard said that the slowdown in imports suggests that the pick up i

Best of BS Opinion: Creative policymaking needed to resolve knotty issues

Policymaking must find simpler ways of resolving seemingly complex problems: such an approach frees up economic agents for productive activity

US President Donald Trump's 25% tariff sounds alarm for steelmakers

The direct impact of the move is restricted to the stainless steel industry, which exported about 9 per cent of its total exports in value terms to the US

Capital goods sector rebounds in FY24, import reliance persists: Eco Survey

The survey also states that the government has acknowledged these challenges and taken steps to address them

MedTech industry divided over move to stop imports of refurbished devices

Domestic manufacturers added that the order will also stop the unregulated influx of second hand medical devices which could have been detrimental to the patient safety in India

Mexico's Sheinbaum plans to cut Chinese imports in apparent nod to Trump

Sheinbaum also used her speech to defend the US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade pact, which she said was the only way to compete with China

China's exports fall, imports decline in November falling below forecasts

China's exports slowed in November and its imports declined, falling below forecasts and underscoring potential weakness in trade at a time when its leaders are striving to boost the economy after the shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Customs data Tuesday showed exports grew 6.7 per cent from a year earlier, down from a 12.7 per cent increase in October. Analysts had estimated that exports had risen more than 8 per cent. Imports fell 3.9 per cent from a year earlier, reflecting weak demand from industries and consumers. With exports outpacing imports, China's trade surplus rose to USD 97.4 billion. The report came a day after Beijing pledged to loosen monetary policy and provide more support for the world's No. 2 economy. US President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to slap tariffs of 60% or more on imports of Chinese goods, complicating Beijing's efforts by threatening an area of the economy that has performed relatively well while the property sector remains in the doldrums and

Govt scraps registration for some items under chip import monitoring system

The government has removed mandatory registration of certain electronic integrated circuits under the chip import monitoring system. Under the system, importers of these items would have to provide advance information in an online system for import and obtain a registration number by paying a specific amount of registration fee. "The requirement of compulsory registration under chip imports monitoring system has been discontinued with immediate effect," according to a notification of the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT). The items included electronic integrated circuits, memories and amplifiers.

New guidelines on laptop import policy still under deliberation: Goyal

Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said the new guidelines on India's laptop import policy are still under deliberation by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Asked about the import authorisation system for IT hardware products and what kind of guidelines the government is looking at, Goyal said, "I think, this is still under deliberation. It is handled by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. I am not privy to what is in their mind for the future". It is pertinent to mention here that in September this year, the government extended the approval system for the import of certain IT hardware products, including laptops and tablets, for three months till December 31. 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. "It is clarified that the importers are allowed to apply for import authorisations, which will be valid up to December 31, 2024. ...

Paper & paperboard imports rise by 3.5% to 992,000 tonnes in Apr-Sep FY25

Paper and paperboard imports rose by 3.5 per cent to 992,000 tonnes in the April-September period of 2024-25, driven by a sharp rise in shipments from China, according to Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA). Imports of paper and paperboard from China rose by 44 per cent during the first half of the ongoing fiscal year despite adequate production capacities in the country, the IPMA said in a statement. Imports of these products had surged by 34 per cent to 19.3 lakh tonnes in 2023-24 due to higher shipments from ASEAN countries, the association said citing the commerce ministry data. "After some moderation during the two Covid years, paper imports in India have continued to surge, hurting the growth of the domestic manufacturing industry, which is reeling under low-capacity utilisation and depressed bottom lines", said IPMA President Pawan Agarwal. The situation is extremely critical for domestic manufacturers of virgin fibre paperboard in view of burgeoning imports from .

Imports from UAE surges 70% in October to $7.2 billion, shows data

India's imports from its free trade agreement partner UAE have jumped by 70.37 per cent year-on-year to USD 7.2 billion in October, leaving a trade deficit of about USD 3.5 billion during that month, according to the commerce ministry data. The deficit, the difference between imports and exports, was USD 2.47 billion in September. Cumulatively also, the imports from the UAE during April-October rose by 55.12 per cent to USD 38.64 billion against USD 24.91 billion in the same period previous fiscal, while exports were up by 15.86 per cent year-on-year to USD 20.93 billion compared to USD 18 billion in April-October 2023-24. The trade deficit during the seven-month period has widened to USD 17.71 billion from USD 6.85 billion in the same period a year ago. The FTA between India and the UAE came into effect in May 2022. According to the data, India's imports from UAE rose by 49.22 per cent to USD 5.38 billion in September and 72.7 per cent to USD 6.38 billion in August. Exports, on