Page 34 - Trade

Govt maintains basmati rice floor price as grain export curbs continue

India imposed a $1,200 per ton minimum export price (MEP) on basmati rice shipments in August to calm local prices ahead of key state elections

Govt extends 20% tax on exports of parboiled rice until March 2024

The 20 per cent export duty on parboiled rice was imposed on August 25 till October 16 to maintain adequate local stock and keep domestic prices under check

India, Brazil target over 3-fold rise in trade to $50 bn: Commerce secy

India and Brazil are looking at an "aspirational" target of increasing the two-way trade by over three-fold to USD 50 billion by 2030, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said on Friday. He was in Brasilia from October 1 to 4 to discuss ways to promote trade between the two countries. He chaired the sixth meeting of the India-Brazil Trade Monitoring Mechanism (TMM). At present, the bilateral trade stood at USD 15.2 billion. "We are looking at USD 30 billion in the next 3-4 years and by 2030, we are looking at an aspirational target of USD 50 billion. There is a huge potential for trade growth," he told reporters here. He added that during his visit, the two sides also discussed market access issues as well as new areas of cooperation. Two working groups have been formed - market access issues and sectors of cooperation. "Biofuels and renewables are important sectors which we will be looking at...Ethanol and biofuel blending is another area of cooperation," he said. Brazil has adva

FTA talks between India and UK at advanced stage, says Commerce Secy

The negotiations for the proposed free trade agreement between India and the UK are at an advanced stage, and both sides are working to iron out differences on the remaining issues, a top government official said on Friday. Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that negotiations on tough issues are underway. "These negotiations are in the advance stage. These are going on, and we are ironing out the differences. We should wait till these negotiations are over because the 13th round is going on," he told reporters here. These remarks assume significance as both sides are expected to conclude the talks this month and may sign the deal in the last week. A majority of the 26 chapters are closed and for the remaining issues, high-level engagements at various levels are ongoing. An official delegation from the UK is here for the negotiations. A team led by Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal was in London recently to give an impetus to the talks. The UK team dealing with investment-rela

India will not impose restrictions on laptop imports: Trade secy Barthwal

"India will not impose restrictions on laptop imports," Trade Secretary Sunil Barthwal told a press conference on Friday

Govt mulls extension of parboiled rice restrictions ahead of key polls

The govt is considering an extension to a 20% export levy, which is due to expire on Oct. 15, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified as the talks are confidential

Exporter status certificates to be issued based on available data: Govt

Exporter status certificate will now be issued based on the available electronic data, and traders will not have to apply to get the recognition, the commerce ministry said on Monday. These certificates provide certain privileges, including simplified procedures under foreign trade policy (FTP) and priority custom clearances on a self-declaration basis, exemption from compulsory negotiation of documents through banks, and exemption from filing bank guarantees for FTP schemes. Upon achieving prescribed export performance, status recognition as one, two, three, four and five-star export houses is accorded to the eligible applicants as per their export performance. The new system-based automatic 'Status Holder' certificates under the FTP 2023 were unveiled in a meeting of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal with the Export Promotion Councils here. "Now, the exporter will not be required to apply to the office of Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) for a Status Certific

Govt considers lowering minimum export price on rice to $850 per tonne

The government is considering reducing the minimum export price (MEP) of basmati rice to USD 850 per tonne from USD 1,200 per tonne at present. The issue was flagged by various food product importers here during a meeting with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. "We are very seriously looking at it. I have had many meetings with rice exporter associations in India. We have compiled the data of basmati rice exports to different parts of the world and different varieties of basmati rice," Goyal said. "And we hope that very soon we'll be able to come up with a very fair price, which all of the industry is very happy about," he told reporters here. He was replying to a question about whether the government is considering their demand to cut the MEP on basmati rice. The Indian rice industry has also demanded the same. Rajya Sabha member from Punjab Vikramjit Singh Sahney has also urged the Centre to rationalise the USD 1,200 per tonne minimum export price on basmati rice as i

DGTR recommends anti-dumping duty on Chinese wheel loaders for 5 years

The commerce ministry's arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has recommended an anti-dumping duty of up to 82 per cent on imports of wheel loaders from China for five years to protect domestic players. The product is a commonly used machinery in infrastructure and mining sectors. The recommendation came after a year-long investigation into the complaints of injury by domestic manufacturers of this product. According to a DGTR notification: "The Authority recommends imposition of definitive anti-dumping duties... so as to remove the injury to the domestic industry". It has concluded in its probe that the imports are coming at prices below the domestic sales price, injuring the domestic industry. The anti-dumping duty, when notified by the Department of Revenue, will be imposed on 'wheel loaders' of less than 7,000 kg capacity and even on imports of semi-knocked-down kits. Completely knocked-down kits have been excluded from the duties as this could end up with anti-dum

Crude oil prices hold steady, Russia rolls back diesel export ban

On Friday, Brent futures were down 11 cents, or 0.13%, at $83.96 at 1203 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 13 cents, or 0.16%, at $82.18

EAM Jaishankar discusses trade, investments with Maltese counterpart

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Friday welcomed his Maltese counterpart, Ian Borg, to the national capital and the two held discussions on India's increasing trade and commerce and investments in the Mediterranean region."Pleased to welcome FM @MinisterIanBorg of Malta this afternoon in New Delhi. Our talks covered India's increasing trade & commerce, investments and people to people ties with the Mediterranean," posted Jaishankar on the social media platform, X.The official spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi, extended his welcome to the Maltese minister upon his arrival on Friday morning. Bagchi said Borg's visit will strengthen the bilateral relationship between India and Malta, as well as multilateral ties.Taking to his social media platform X, he posted, "Warm welcome to FM @MinisterIanBorg of Malta to India. The visit will further strengthen our bilateral and multilateral ties."Meanwhile, the EAM also stated that he discussed ..

Govt bans manufacturing, imports of electric detonator from April 2025

The government has decided to ban manufacturing, possession and imports of electric detonator from April 2025 in view of security concerns and public safety. In a notification, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has said that the central government is of the opinion that electric detonator is of a "dangerous" character. It is expedient for the security concerns and public safety to prohibit the manufacturing, possession and import of electric detonator, it said. It added that the government, after consultation with stakeholders of explosives industry, in the public interest has decided that its production shall be completely phased out by the end of 2024-2025. "The central government hereby prohibits the manufacture, possession and import of the electric detonator...throughout the country with effect from the 1st day of April, 2025," the notification, dated September 29, has said.

FTAs help India's engineering exports surge 9% to UAE, Australia in Apr-Aug

The recent Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Australia have injected fresh vigour into India's engineering exports, witnessing a notable 9 per cent surge in shipments to both nations during the April-August period of the current fiscal, an industry official said. This surge comes at a time when overall engineering exports have experienced a decline, EEPC India said on Friday. Engineering exports to the UAE during the April-August period of FY24 recorded a 9 per cent year-on-year growth, reaching USD 2.24 billion. Simultaneously, engineering exports to Australia also witnessed a substantial 9 per cent year-on-year upswing, amounting to USD 596.14 million compared to USD 548.62 million in the April-August period of FY23. "Engineering exports to UAE and Australia have been beneficial. At this juncture, we urge the government to consider more FTAs, not only with our traditional partners but also with non-traditional markets in Latin America and Africa,

Rice export ban a regulation, safeguards food security: India to WTO

India has said that the export ban on rice is a regulation rather than a restriction and is crucial for securing the food security of 1.4 billion people, according to an official. This was stated by India in response to concerns raised by a group of countries including the US during a meeting of the WTO's Committee on Agriculture in Geneva on September 27. The Geneva-based official said that in the meeting, India reiterated its commitment to ensure food security in importing countries by granting exemptions to those in need upon their governments' requests. The Indian government has already allowed exports of non-basmati rice to Bhutan (79,000 tonnes), UAE (75,000 tonnes), Mauritius (14,000 tonnes) and Singapore (50,000 tonnes) through the National Cooperative Exports Ltd (NCEL). On July 20 this year, India banned exports of non-basmati white rice to boost domestic supply and keep retail prices under check during the upcoming festive season. "The Government of India has the commit

US, UK, Bangladesh leading source countries for India's FTAs in 2022: Data

The US, the UK and Bangladesh were the top three source countries for foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in India in 2022, according to official data. The data was shared by the Ministry of Tourism in a statement on the occasion of World Tourism Day on Wednesday. "Top 3 source countries for Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during 2022 include United States of America (USA), Bangladesh and United Kingdom (UK)," the statement said. India received 6.19 million FTAs during 2022 as compared to 1.52 million in 2021, it said. There were 10.93 million FTAs in India during pre-pandemic year 2019. The tourism industry has shown good signs of revival after the pandemic, Union Minister of Tourism G Kishan Reddy had shared this in a written response to a query in Rajya Sabha in April. In the data, shared on Wednesday, the Ministry of Tourism also said that India received Rs 1,34,543 crore (USD 16.93 billion) in foreign exchange earnings, a "remarkable increase" from Rs 65,070 crore reco

Govt exempts 5% integrated GST on ocean freight imports from October 1

The government has exempted payments made for goods imported through ocean freight from 5 per cent integrated GST with effect from October 1. The Finance Ministry has notified changes to the IGST Act with regard to payment of integrated GST on 'ocean freight' on imported goods with effect from October 1. Currently, importers are required to pay 5 per cent GST under the Reverse Charge Mechanism. KPMG Indirect Tax Head & Partner Abhishek Jain said the amendments proposed are aligned with the apex court's ruling in the case of Mohit Minerals and help explicitly mention the government's alignment to the position. "While this has been issued prospectively, the industry has been seeking and successfully claiming refund of taxes already paid for the past period, where credit has not been availed," Jain added. Giving its ruling in the Mohit Minerals case, the Supreme Court in May last year had held that since the Indian importer is liable to pay IGST on the 'composite supply', comprising

Edible oil imports likely to fall 6% due to higher carryover stocks

The country is likely to import 9.5 million metric tons of palm oil next year against 10 million in 2022-23, he told a global conference on vegetable oils in Mumbai

Temporarily stop import of rough diamonds: Industry body ask members

The gems and jewellery industry has asked its members to stop import of rough diamonds for two months starting from October 15 amid slowing global demand and rising inventories of domestic players. "...demand for loose polished diamonds and jewellery from large consuming economies such as the USA and China have been materially affected over the last many quarters, on the back of all-time highs of 2021 and 2022, with a visible slowdown in orders. "As a result, our country's exports have declined by 25 per cent during January-August, with a similar trend in September. Due to such factors, our inventories in polished diamonds have increased over the past few months and prices are softer as an effect of this mismatch in demand vs. supply," according to a circular. The circular was issued jointly on Tuesday by the Gem Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), Bharat Diamond Bourse, Surat Diamond Bourse, Mumbai Diamond Merchants Association and Surat Diamond Association. Mining compani

Govt extends export benefits under RoDTEP scheme by a year till June 2024

The government on Tuesday extended export benefits under the RoDTEP scheme for one more year till June 2024, according to an official release. The Scheme for Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) provides for refund of taxes, duties and levies that are incurred by exporters in the process of manufacturing and distribution of goods and are not being reimbursed under any other mechanism at the centre, state or local level. The scheme is operational since September 2021. "The RoDTEP support which was notified till 30th September 2023 is now being extended till 30th June 2024 at the same rates to the existing export items," the commerce ministry said in the release. It will help the exporting community to negotiate export contracts in the present international environment on better terms. The RoDTEP Committee has again been constituted in the Department of Revenue to review and recommend the ceiling rates under the RoDTEP Scheme for different export sectors, it .

Indo-US ties should vie for frictionless trade relationship: US Ambassador

India and the US need to strive towards a more ambitious and frictionless bilateral trade relationship, US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti said here on Tuesday. Speaking at the 20th Indo-US Economic Summit organised by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, Garcetti lauded the recently concluded G20 Summit in New Delhi, saying India has demonstrated its global leadership through the "most successful" G20 in the history of the organisation. The theme of the 20th Indo-US Economic Summit is 'Sharing ideas and potential for a sustainable partnership between India and the US for the next 25 years'. "The goal that we should be setting for each other is how can we be more ambitious. Not just settle for another deal, not just settle for as we have done in the last few months bringing down the retaliatory tariffs and trade disputes between our countries. That's not good enough. "I think we need to close our eyes and dream of what this relationship can be like even more than we would imagi