Page 13 - India Trade Policy

Next round of India-Asean trade agreement review talks in November

The next round of talks for the ongoing review meeting of the India-Asean free trade agreement in goods will be held in November, an official statement said on Saturday. The third round of the negotiations was concluded on August 1 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Eight sub-committees have been constituted under the India-Asean Free Trade Agreement Joint Committee for undertaking negotiations on different areas related to the review of the pact. "The next meeting of the AITIGA (Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement) Joint Committee will be held in India from 19-22 November 2024," the Commerce Ministry said. The AITIGA was signed in 2009. In September 2022, both sides tasked the AITIGA Joint Committee to undertake the review to make the agreement more trade-facilitative and mutually beneficial. During the third round of negotiations in Jakarta, Indonesia, all eight Sub- Sub-Committees dealing with national treatment and market access, rules of origin, standards, technical regulations, custom

Economic Survey: Silver linings amid slower growth, export woes linger

Tax revenue's continued growth, meanwhile, is led by direct taxes

India-UAE trade pact: GTRI expresses concerns over precious metal imports

Think tank GTRI on Tuesday expressed serious concerns over spurt in import of precious metals from the UAE under a free trade agreement and demanded an investigation as it is impacting domestic jewellery industry and leading to potential annual revenue loss. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that by addressing these issues, authorities can ensure the integrity of import practices, safeguard domestic industries, and prevent significant revenue losses. Seeking an urgent review of the agreement, it said the India-UAE comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) allows unlimited imports of gold, silver, platinum, and diamonds from the UAE into India with zero tariffs in the coming years. This will lead to significant "annual revenue losses, move import business from banks to a few private traders, and replace top suppliers with Dubai-based firms," it said in its report. "The zero-tariff policy under CEPA is projected to cause an annual revenue loss of Rs 63,375 cr

India seeks to boost exports to Russia after PM Modi's Moscow trip

Surging Russian exports to India accounted for $61.43 billion of the $65.7 billion in trade between the two countries in the last fiscal year that ended in March

Commerce ministry developing platform for registration, resolution of NTB's

The commerce ministry is developing a platform for registering non-tariff barriers (NTBs) faced by exporters and taking up with the concerned countries for their resolution, a senior official said. At present, there is an information gap on these barriers particularly for small items. "We are making a portal so that we can prioritise all the NTBs. Traders will register their complaints and the ministry will pursue that," the official said. In cases where the barrier is impacting a large volume of goods will be prioritised for their redressal and action-taking. Economic think tank GTRI in its report has stated that India needs to act in a fast-track manner for the removal of NTBs, being faced by domestic exporters in different countries like the US, China and Japan, to achieve export target of USD 1 trillion for goods by 2030. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has suggested a two-pronged strategy to mitigate the influence of NTBs on exports. It asked for upgrading domest

Piyush Goyal meets exporters; reviews trade scenario, non-tariff barriers

Exporters asked the government to firm up a strategy to deal with the issue of non-tariff barriers imposed by trade partners that ultimately hurts India's exports

A champion of trade liberalisation

Arvind Panagariya's book offers a rich and fascinating analysis of how protectionism has harmed the country's trade and economy

100-day plan: Govt e-platform to spur exports, connect with stakeholders

Since India has been on a free trade agreement (FTA) signing spree, the platform will offer easy access to benefits under these agreements

Changing terms of trade

India must aim to boost export share

India seeks arbitration proceedings with Aus under WTO rules on services

India has sought arbitration proceedings under the WTO rules against Australia to resolve an issue with regard to services sector, as it could impact New Delhi's trade in services, an official said. The official said India has already communicated to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regarding its request for arbitration on the issue. On November 17, 2023, Australia notified to the secretariat of the WTO about its intention to modify its schedule of specific commitments under the GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services) to incorporate additional commitments relating to services domestic regulation. GATS is a WTO agreement that came into force in 1995. India is a member of the Geneva-based organisation since 1995. WTO is a global tarde watchdog and adjudicates trade disputes among member nations. As an "affected member", India has stated that Australia's intended modification of its specific commitments does not satisfy certain conditions, the official said. "Thereafter... In

Georgia reaches out to India to begin free-trade agreement talks

India and Georgia have discussed the possibility of a trade deal for over seven years now

Trade with Pak key poll issue; will benefit farmers: Amritsar traders

For the traders and industry in Amritsar, resumption of trade with Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah land route is a key poll issue. They say reviving cross-border trade will also benefit farmers, transporters and labourers. The volume of trade between India and Pakistan through the land route used to be around Rs 5,000 crore per annum before the bilateral trade ties were suspended in 2019. Resuming trade with Pakistan will not only boost the economy of Amritsar but it will also create more employment opportunities, the traders said. The local industry has made it clear to the candidates of all major political parties that the revival of trade was necessary for the betterment and development of Amritsar. Amritsar along with 12 other parliamentary constituencies of Punjab will go to polls in the final round of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections on June 1. "The government must resume trade with Pakistan because in Amritsar there is no manufacturing industry," said Amritsar-based ..

What lies ahead for the India-EFTA countries free-trade agreement?

India's interest in trade and economic partnership with EFTA countries stems from the expertise of affluent member-nations in precision technology, and India's appetite for foreign direct investment

Digital Competition Bill may hinder investments in tech startups: IAMAI

The Digital Competition Bill seeks to further regulate large digital enterprises, including news aggregators, as part of efforts to ensure a fair competition in the digital spaces

Xi's balancing act

China tests EU cohesion on Ukraine and trade

Decoded: How trade deals are ratified by India's partner countries

Trade experts said that Indian government officials generally reach out to their counterparts to discuss any major concern flagged by the trade partner's Parliament during FTA negotiations

Best of BS Opinion: Prioritise trade, Troubled spice route & more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Prioritise trade

New markets and harmonised regulations necessary

Govt working on global trade ahead of World Bank business ready report

With the World Bank planning to come out with its first Business Ready report in September this year, the commerce ministry has started working on the international trade topic in detail to further push India's ranking, an official said. Business Ready (B-READY) is the World Bank's new flagship report benchmarking the business environment and investment climate in most economies worldwide. The report assesses the regulatory framework and public services directed at firms, and the efficiency with which regulatory framework and public services are combined in practice. The first B-READY report will be launched on September 25, 2024. The Business Ready report is replacing the World Bank Group's earlier Doing Business index. In 2020, the World Bank decided to pause the publication of its Doing Business report following a number of irregularities regarding changes to data in previous reports. The new focuses on 10 topics covering the lifecycle of a firm in the course of starting, ...

India, Australia to speed up trade deal after Lok Sabha elections

India, Australia trade deal may include deeper market access and outcomes in digital trade & goods