Page 8 - India Trade

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

Indian refiners halt trade with US-sanctioned Russian firms and tankers

Washington also sanctioned 183 vessels used for transporting Russian oil while allowing a winding down of some energy related transactions by March 12

Trump 2.0 era: Govt asks industries to identify import prospects from US

Major economies closely following Trump's moves

Why India and China should admit that their economies are intertwined

A lot has changed. Both nations are more than a little concerned about how they will revive slowing growth

India-EFTA trade pact may come into force before end of 2025: Goyal

The implementation process of free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the four-nation European bloc EFTA is progressing fast and is expected to come into force before the end of this year, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said. The two sides signed the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) on March 10, 2024. Under the pact, India has received an investment commitment of USD 100 billion in 15 years from the grouping while allowing several products such as Swiss watches, chocolates and cut and polished diamonds at lower or zero duties. The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. "Yes, EFTA is progressing very fast," Goyal told PTI when asked if the agreement would come into effect this year. The minister said the Swiss Council of States has approved the agreement and now will go to their National Council for approval. "So this overwhelming support in political circles in Switzerland for the TEPA wi

Govt's export arm EIC plans to expand food testing infra to boost exports

The commerce ministry's arm Export Inspection Council (EIC) is planning to expand the country's food testing infrastructure in a holistic way to boost outbound shipments, a senior government official said. To prepare a plan for this, the EIC has initiated a detailed study on gap assessment on food testing infrastructure for exports. "Though we have taken a number of measures, we are doing a more deeper analysis commodity and area-wise. We are trying to find out gaps in our food testing infrastructure. We hope that the study will be over in 2-3 months and after that we will come up with a full plan of how to expand our infrastructure in a more holistic way," Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce Nitin Kumar Yadav told reporters here. EIC is an advisory body to the central government. It notifies commodities which will be subjected to quality control or inspection prior to export; establish standards of quality for such notified commodities, and specify the type of quality ...

India's goods, services exports likely to cross $800 bn in 2024: GTRI

India's overall exports of goods and services in 2024 has estimated to cross USD 814 billion, an increase of 5.58 per cent, according to a report by economic think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI). In 2023, the country's merchandise and services exports stood at USD 768.5 billion. This year, the report estimated that in 2024, merchandise exports are expected to reach USD 441.5 billion, showing a modest 2.34 per cent increase over USD 431.4 billion in the previous year. In contrast, the services exports are estimated to grow by 10.31 per cent to USD 372.3 billion, up from USD 337.5 billion in 2023. "India's total exports, encompassing merchandise and services, are projected to exceed USD 814 billion in 2024, reflecting a 5.58 per cent growth compared to USD 768.5 billion in 2023," it said. GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said India's export landscape is undergoing a transformation that highlights both opportunities and vulnerabilities. Sectors such as machinery and electr

South Africa-India in 2024: 30th anniversary of resumed diplomatic ties

Trade between India and South Africa picked momentum in 2024 after a sluggish spell following the COVID-19 pandemic. The two countries also marked the 30th anniversary of the resumption of their diplomatic ties this year. Bilateral trade totalled USD 19 billion in the year, surpassing the pre-pandemic figure. We hosted several high-profile Invest India events in partnership with local institutions. An India-South Africa Investment Network was formed to drive more connections and conversations among the investment community. We hosted several capacity-building sessions for South African entrepreneurs through India Entrepreneurs Forum," India's Consul General Mahesh Kumar said. With the India Business Forum, representing the 150 Indian companies with a presence in South Africa, we started sector-specific meetings to have more focused engagements with Indian businesses in South Africa," he added. At a seminar, he also urged South African investors to reconsider the need for Western ..

How Indian enterprise evolved: From bazaars to the Reliance empire

Lakshmi Subramanian's book provides a sweeping view of Indian business history, from pre-modern trade to corporate giants like Reliance, highlighting entrepreneurs and industrial evolution

Dr Manmohan Singh trusted India's trade capacity to compete at global level

He introduced a dual exchange rate mechanism in February 1992 and unified exchange rate mechanism in February 1993, effectively engineering a further devaluation of about 30 per cent

India eyes $25 billion export opportunity in US amid China tariff dispute

These sectors include electronics and electrical equipment, footwear, textiles and garments, furniture and home decor, automotive components, toys, and chemicals

Govt initiates anti-dumping probe into LNG fuel tanks imports from China

India has initiated a probe into alleged dumping of LNG fuel tanks from China following a complaint by a domestic player, according to a commerce ministry notification. The commerce ministry's investigation arm, Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), is probing the dumping of liquified natural gas (LNG) fuel tanks as imports are allegedly hurting the margins of the domestic industry. Inox India Ltd has filed an application seeking the imposition of anti-dumping duty, stating that the cheap imports are causing material injury to the domestic industry. The tanks are used to contain and carry methane gas in large vehicles such as trucks. "On the basis of the duly substantiated written application submitted by the domestic industry and having reached satisfaction based on the prima facie evidence submitted by domestic industry about dumping of subject goods...the Authority, hereby, initiates an anti-dumping investigation," the DGTR has said in a notification. If it is establish

Exporters seek Rs 750 cr to tap US potential amid tariff threats on China

Exporters on Thursday sought a fund of Rs 750 crore for three years to tap USD 25 billion export potential in the US, aiming to seize potential opportunities that may arise as the US President-elect, Donald Trump, has threatened to impose high tariffs on Chinese goods. In its pre-Budget meeting with the finance ministry, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Ashwani Kumar has also demanded extension of the five per cent Interest Equalisation Scheme (IES). "A marketing scheme to focus on the US with a corpus of Rs 250 crore per year (Rs 750 crore overall) for three years may be launched to generate additional exports of USD 25 billion," Kumar said. He said that higher tariffs on China can create a significant opportunity for Indian exports, particularly in sectors where China has previously been a dominant supplier. Based on a study undertaken by FIEO, India can replace China in sectors like electronics and electrical equipment (USD 10 billion additional export

India prepares for possible trade talks with US after Trump takes office

While aiming to protect its manufacturers from potential US tariff hikes on its exports, India is exploring ways to strengthen ties with Washington

Commerce ministry may face possible repeat of 2011 trade data error

The commerce ministry this time around may witness a repeat of 2011 when a discrepancy of about USD 9 billion was detected in the trade data for the April-November period. This time, the issue involves suspected errors in calculating gold import figures for November 2024. In 2011, there was over-reporting of export data on account of miss-classifications and double counting due to problems in the computer software, which was getting upgraded. Noticing an unusual surge in the gold imports in November this year, pushing the country's trade deficit to a record, a commerce ministry official on Wednesday said that DGCIS (Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics) has taken up detailed examination of the gold import data and reconciliation would be done with the data received by CBIC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs). The country's gold imports in November reached a record high of USD 14.86 billion, registering a four-fold increase, mainly on account of ..