Page 6 - India Trade

US President Donald Trump and trade policy: What should India do?

The country should convert the Trump threat to an India opportunity, re-embracing a more liberal trade regime as a way of reviving manufacturing output and exports

India should push for provisions in FTA to address EU's carbon tax: GTRI

India should push for inclusion of protective provisions in its proposed free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union to safeguard its interests against the EU's carbon tax, think tank GTRI said on Thursday. The EU has decided to impose Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), or carbon tax, which will come into effect from January 1, 2026. It would mainly impact seven carbon-intensive sectors, including steel, cement, fertiliser, aluminium and hydrocarbon products. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that if protective language is not included in the agreement, post FTA, EU goods will enter India duty-free, while Indian steel and aluminum could face high carbon charges under CBAM when exported to the EU. "Since CBAM imposes tariffs based on production methods, it violates WTO (World Trade Organisation) rules. India must push for protective language in the FTA to address this issue," GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said. The suggestions came at a time when Europea

European Commission Prez arrives in Delhi, says India is trusted friend

On her arrival, the President of the European Commission was accorded a warm and special welcome and was received by Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya S Patel

In UPA decade, trade gap with China ballooned from $2 bn to $40 bn: Goyal

He noted that in the 1990s one of the biggest mistakes that countries worldwide, including India, committed was to accept China as a market economy and a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO)

India-Qatar potential FTA must be approached with caution, says GTRI

India should tread cautiously on a potential free trade agreement (FTA) with Qatar, particularly in the petrochemical sector as both countries are strong in this segment, economic think tank GTRI said on Wednesday. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) added that India should ensure that tariff concessions on petrochemicals and energy-related imports do not undermine domestic industries. According to a joint statement issued after the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the two sides agreed to explore the possibility of entering into a bilateral comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) with an aim to double bilateral trade to USD 28 billion by 2030. Normally in a CEPA, a kind of free trade agreement (FTA), two trading partners either eliminate or significantly reduce customs duties on the maximum number of goods (90-95 per cent) traded between them. Besides, they ease norms to promote trade in services and boost

India, UAE trade grows 21.35% to $80.51 billion during Apr-Jan in FY25

The bilateral trade between India and the UAE grew 21.35 per cent to USD 80.51 billion during the April-January period this fiscal year, according to the commerce ministry data. While India's exports to the UAE rose 6.82 per cent to USD 30 billion during the first 10 months of this fiscal year, imports during this period rose 35.58 per cent to USD 50.51 billion, the data showed. The ministry said the trade is registering healthy growth after implementation of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries in May 2022. The India-United Arab Emirates (UAE) Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is completing three years of its signing on Tuesday. "In terms of utilisation of CEPA, preferential duties are concerned, since coming into force, nearly 2,40,000 certificates of origin have been issued against which total export of USD 19.87 billion have been made to the UAE," it said in a statement. It also said the agreement has been successful in realising its potenti

India, Qatar aim to double bilateral trade to $28 billion in five years

The announcement came after talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, who is on a two-day visit to New Delhi

Trade deficit widens to nearly $23 billion in January as exports shrink

During April-January, exports grew only 1.39 per cent, while imports saw a 7.4 per cent increase

World trade at risk: Trump's drive for reciprocity will undermine trade

Without the MFN principle, investigation into rules of origin might have to be applied to every single shipment

India's exports to US increase 39% to $8.44 bn in January: Govt data

India's exports to the US rose by 39 per cent year-on-year to USD 8.44 billion in January, while imports grew by 33.46 per cent to USD 3.57 billion, according to the commerce ministry data. Cumulatively, the country's exports to the US during April-January grew by 8.95 per cent to USD 68.46 billion against USD 62.84 billion in the same period previous fiscal, the data showed. During 2021-24, America was the largest trading partner of India. The US is one of the few countries with which India has a trade surplus. In 2023-24, the US was the largest trading partner of India with USD 119.71 billion bilateral trade in goods (USD 77.51 billion worth of exports, USD 42.19 billion of imports and USD 35.31 billion trade surplus). The increasing trade assumes significance as the two countries are aiming at USD 500 billion two-way commerce by 2030 and a trade agreement.

India, Qatar to discuss ways to boost bilateral trade, investments

India and Qatar on Tuesday will discuss ways to further promote bilateral trade and investments. The issues will be discussed between Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal Al Thani, an official statement said on Monday. Both will attend the Joint Business Forum meet here on February 18, the commerce and industry ministry said. It is being organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in collaboration with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). The forum will act as an platform where top business leaders, policymakers, and industry stakeholders will convene to explore investment opportunities, technological collaboration, and economic partnerships, it said. The high-level Qatari delegation includes leading enterprises from energy, infrastructure, finance, technology, food security, logistics, advanced manufacturing, and innovation. "These discussions will enable Indian and Q

$500 bn trade target with US to help boost India's exports: Exporters

A target to take bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030 and plans to negotiate a bilateral trade agreement will help India boost its exports to the US, exporters say. The focus on technology, defence, and green energy will particularly benefit India's export sectors and enhance global competitiveness, exporters said. Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Ashwani Kumar underscored the importance of enhancing bilateral trade by eliminating barriers and streamlining processes. International trade expert and Hi-Tech Gears Chairman Deep Kapuria said that the USD 500 billion bilateral trade target is an important outcome of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's high-level visit to Washington. "Since India has surplus in trade with the US, it would bring significant gains to India in terms of enhanced export to the world's largest economy. What is important here is that the two leaders have agreed to negotiate the first tranche of a mutually beneficial multi-sector ...

Govt to focus on 20 countries, six focus sectors to boost exports

The government has identified 20 countries such as Australia, Brazil, China, and France, and six focus sectors each in commodities and services to further increase India's exports, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada said a meeting with the officers of the commercial wings of Indian Missions in these 20 countries was organised last month to enhance exports. "The government has recently identified 20 countries of significance and 6 focus sectors each in commodities and services," he said. The 20 countries are Australia, Brazil, Bangladesh, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Trkiye, UAE, UK, the US and Vietnam. He added that the meeting focused on exploring strategic solutions for fostering multilateral trade collaboration and streamlining operational and logistical barriers to trade. "A set of ...

India, Israel to discuss ways to promote trade, investments in Feb 11 meet

Top business leaders, policymakers, and industry stakeholders from India and Israel will meet here on Tuesday to discuss ways to further promote trade and investments between the two countries, an official statement said on Monday. They will explore new avenues of economic cooperation, technological collaboration, and investment opportunities, the commerce and industry ministry said. It said that the India-Israel Business Forum meeting will focus on expanding trade relationships, fostering cross-sector collaborations, and identifying investment opportunities. A high-level Israeli business delegation, led by Israeli Minister of Economy and Industry Nir M Barkat will participate in the forum. The delegation includes Israeli enterprises and representatives from sectors such as technology, manufacturing, healthcare, agri-tech, food processing, defense, homeland security, water management, logistics, and retail. There is also a meeting of the India-Israel CEO Forum. "These forums will

Plan is to create separate agency to implement BharatTradeNet: DGFT

The Budget announcement to set up BharatTradeNet as a unified platform for trade documentation and financing solutions is an ambitious proposal and there is a plan to create a not-for-profit company to implement this project, a senior government official said on Tuesday. Proposed on the lines of Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the platform will help in moving towards complete digitisation of the entire range of trade documentation and then allow seamless operability of different agencies which are involved in this, Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Santosh Kumar Saranagi told reporters here. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said in the Budget speech that this will be set up as a unified platform for trade documentation and financing solutions and it will complement the Unified Logistics Interface Platform. "So this is a highly ambitious proposal but we are ambitioning to do something which is a UIDAI kind of programme in future...Idea is to create a separate agency .

Budget 2025-26: Operationalising the trade route to economic growth

It would have been better had the government gone in for across-the-board Customs duty rationalisation instead of picking and choosing sectors across the board

Economic Survey flags rising imports, services sector remains key export driver

A sharper rise in imports, which grew by 6.9 per cent to $682.2 billion, widened the trade deficit from $69.7 billion in 2023 to $79.5 billion in FY25 (April-December)

India, China have most tariffs, no inflation: US commerce secy nominee

Two countries India and China have the most tariffs but no inflation, an American businessman nominated by US President Donald Trump to be his commerce secretary told lawmakers on Thursday, making a point that there is no relationship between tariffs and inflation. The two top countries with tariffs, India and China, have the most tariffs and no inflation, it is just nonsense that tariffs cause inflation. It is nonsense, Howard William Lutnick, former head of Cantor Fitzgerald, told members of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee during his confirmation hearing. He assured senators that the economy of the United States of America will be much, much better. A particular product's price may go up, but all of them, this is not inflationary, he asserted. Responding to questions, Lutnick said the United States is treated horribly by the global trading environment. They all have higher tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers and subsidies. They treat us poorly. We need

PM Modi may tackle economic slowdown, trade turmoil in upcoming Budget

Economists expect measures to raise disposable incomes and tariff cuts to encourage local manufacturing

Govt examines Trump's trade memo to assess impact on bilateral trade

India is examining the Trump's memorandum - America First Trade Policy - to assess its impact on the bilateral trade with the US, which is its largest trading partner, sources said on Wednesday. They also said that the White House directive to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to identify countries with which the US can negotiate agreements on a bilateral or sector-specific basis is a positive development for countries like India. "We are studying and examining the memo. We have to evaluate things before framing any strategy...As of now from a plain reading of that, I do not see something we need to be worried about. Everything that we examine does not translate into action," one of the sources added. The government is also awaiting confirmation of appointment of key trade officials in the US. "Confirmations will take a bit of time. Once confirmations happen there will be discussion. India and the US are good trading partners," the source said. According to the memoran