Page 36 - Trade

India's crude oil imports from Russia down 24% MoM, lowest in 7 months

Indian refiners also cut shipments from Iraq, another top supplier, by 10% on the month in August to 848,000 barrels a day

Palm oil futures edges up on supply concerns amid India festive demand

The benchmark palm oil contract for November delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange strengthened 7 ringgit, or 0.18% to 3,937 ringgit ($849.22) per metric ton by the midday break

India, UK to continue free trade agreement negotiations till Aug-end

Indian and UK officials will continue their negotiations till the month-end to iron out differences on the proposed free trade agreement (FTA), the commerce ministry said on Sunday. This meeting will be followed by a review at the higher level, it said. Following the G20 Trade and Investment Ministers Meeting (TIMM) at Jaipur, the progress of the negotiations was reviewed by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and UK's Secretary of State for Trade Kemi Badenoch on August 26. "Teams are going to continue negotiations till the end of August 2023 which will be followed by stock taking at the higher level, it said. While expressing satisfaction over the last 12 rounds of negotiations wherein several chapters have been finalized, both exuded confidence that the next round of talks to be similarly successful. "Both Chief Negotiators apprised the ministers about the current state of play, issues outstanding for resolution and their continuous joint efforts to iron out the same,"

US trade chief flags concerns over India's license rule for laptop imports

US' intervention comes amid worries the licensing regime could impact shipments from the likes of Apple and Dell and force firms to boost local manufacturing

Integrate HP forest, police outposts to curb smuggling: CM to officials

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Sunday directed officials to integrate forest department outposts with police outposts to combat timber smuggling in the state. Presiding over a meeting of the forest department here, he emphasised the installation of advanced technology, including CCTV cameras, at these integrated outposts. Timber smuggling results in revenue loss for the state government and the forest department should take proactive measures to restrain the illegal trade, the chief minister was quoted as saying in a statement issued here. The forests of Himachal Pradesh serve as the lungs of north India and are highly valuable assets for the state, Sukhu said. However, the recent torrential rains have caused significant damage to these trees, resulting in immense losses, he said and stressed prompt removals of the uprooted trees from the forest land and ensuring their proper disposal. Sukhu also reviewed the working plans for harvesting Khair Trees in t

Global inflation pressures could become harder to manage in future: Study

Rising trade barriers. Aging populations. A broad transition from carbon-spewing fossil fuels to renewable energy. The prevalence of such trends across the world could intensify global inflation pressures in the coming years and make it harder for the Federal Reserve and other central banks to meet their inflation targets. That concern was a theme sounded in several high-profile speeches and economic studies presented Friday and Saturday at the Fed's annual conference of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. For decades, the global economy had been moving toward greater integration, with goods flowing more freely between the United States and its trading partners. Lower-wage production overseas allowed Americans to enjoy inexpensive goods and kept inflation low, though at the expense of many US manufacturing jobs. Since the pandemic, though, that trend has shown signs of reversing. Multinational corporations have been shifting their supply chains away from China. They are seek

PM wraps up his maiden visit to Greece, agrees on doubling trade by 2030

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday concluded his successful visit to Greece after meeting the country's top leadership to elevate ties to the level of strategic partnership and agreeing to double the bilateral trade by 2030. Modi, who arrived here after attending the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg on the first visit to Greece by an Indian prime minister in 40 years, also said that both sides decided to expand cooperation in areas of defence and security, infrastructure, agriculture, education and new and emerging technologies. "PM @narendramodi emplanes for India after successfully concluding his first ever visit to Greece and elevating India-Greece ties to Strategic Partnership'," the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a post on X. "This Greece visit is a very special one. It will add great momentum to India-Greece friendship, particularly people-to-people linkages," Modi posted on X. "I also had a very memorable interaction with the dynamic Indian .

Govt fixes sugar exports quota at 5,841 tn for EU under TRQ scheme

India on Friday notified sugar exports of 5,841 tonnes to the European Union under the tariff-rate quota (TRQ) scheme for 2023-24 (October 2023 to September 2024). TRQ is a quota for a volume of exports that enters the European Union (EU) with relatively low tariffs. After the quota reaches its limit, a higher tariff is applicable to additional shipments. "The Director General of Foreign Trade hereby allocates quantity of 5,841 MT for export of sugar to EU from India under TRQ for the year 2023-24 (October 2023 to September 2024)," an official notification said. It said that a Certificate of Origin, if required, for preferential export of sugar to EU, shall be issued by the Additional Director General of Foreign Trade, Mumbai on the recommendation of APEDA regarding the entity and quantity for which it is eligible. The quota will be operated by the Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) as the implementing agency for the export of TRQ items to

Co-monitoring mechanism for steel exports between India, US at final stage

India and the US are in the final stages of setting up a joint monitoring mechanism to enable domestic exports of certain steel and aluminium products to America without paying extra duties, an official said. Indian exports of these products attract additional duties in the US as Washington, in 2018, imposed a 25 per cent import duty on steel products and 10 per cent on certain aluminium products on grounds of national security. In retaliation, India in June 2019 imposed additional customs duties on 28 American products. During the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June, the two countries decided to remove trade irritants and as part of that both sides agreed to end six trade disputes at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). They have mutually resolved those six disputes and India has decided to remove additional duties on eight US products, including chickpeas, lentils and apples, which were imposed in 2019. The US, on its part, has agreed to provide greater market access to

Taiwan vice prez accuses China of using trade curbs to influence elections

Taiwan's vice president and frontrunner in the presidential elections has accused China of using unfair trade practices to influence the elections. William Lai, in a meeting Friday with foreign press in Taipei, said China has targeted Taiwan's agricultural products potentially in an effort to undermine the coming elections. His comments come after China on Monday announced it would suspend mango imports from Taiwan after import authorities detected pests on the fruit. The trade curb is largely believed to be politically motivated. Taiwan is due to hold presidential elections in January 2024. Over the weekend, Beijing launched war games around Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy that China claims as its own. China and Taiwan split in 1949 following a civil war that ended with the ruling Communist Party taking control over the mainland. Beijing has never renounced the use of force as a means of retaking Taiwan. China's political leadership sees Lai and Taiwan's incumbent president, Tsai

G20 trade and investment ministers' meet adopts outcome document: Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said the G20 trade and investment ministers' meeting has adopted an outcome document and chair's summary which talks about promoting global trade and support to MSMEs. After the conclusion of the two-day meeting here, the minister said that there are several new elements in the document. The outcome document talks about WTO reforms, future-ready global value chains and digitisation. However, he said that there is only one para of the 17-page statement where "we could not get consensus for obvious reasons".

Sustainable trade plays key role in economic development: France Minister

He added that we also observe that more and more companies are integrating value chains' security into their strategic planning

Trade deficit falling at rapid pace, exports to see growth: Piyush Goyal

India's trade deficit is falling at a rapid pace and the exports are expected to see positive growth in the coming months, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. He said that countries in the world are facing a slowdown and global trade is relatively weak right now. Given the challenging situation, high interest rates, and cut down in discretionary spending have led to a fall in the exports of readymade apparel and the gem and jewellery sector, the minister said adding lower petroleum prices have resulted in lower export numbers. All in all, trade continues to be robust, our trade deficit is falling rapidly. And India will continue to benefit significantly from our global outreach, Goyal told PTI. When asked if he expects the country's merchandise exports to come in positive growth from September, he said, "I do believe it is possible". India's exports contracted by 15.88 per cent in July, the sixth straight month of decline, to USD 32.25 billion this year d

GCC keen to 'quickly' start talks for free trade agreement: Goyal

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has expressed the desire to "quickly" get back on the negotiating table to discuss a potential trade agreement, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. Last year, both the regions agreed to pursue an FTA and resume the negotiations. GCC is a union of six countries in the Gulf region -- Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. The council is the largest trading bloc of India. "We have large investments coming from GCC countries. We already have a FTA with UAEThe GCC countries led by Saudi Arabia have expressed the desire to quickly get back on the negotiating table to discuss potential agreements with the GCC countries. Many GCC member nations have also approached India individually with the request to enter into a bilateral agreement," he told reporters here. The minister is here for the G20 trade and investment ministerial meeting. Among the economic regions, GCC is the top source of imports. Imports from GC

Trade talks with UK progressing extremely well, says Piyush Goyal

The ongoing negotiations between India and the UK on a free trade agreement (FTA) are progressing "extremely well" and it is expected to conclude at an early date, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. He said both sides are confident that they will come out with a "very" balanced, equitable and fair agreement in the interest of businesses and people of both the countries. When asked about the UK's demand on import duty concessions on auto, whiskey and dairy products, he said India and the UK both are pressing hard for their requests and concerns. "There is hardly an issue on which we are not negotiating and I assure you that it will be a strong and hard outcome that will come out of all these negotiations... I believe we have to talk with sincerity, with speed but ensuring balance... and we are both committed to come up with a win-win solution for both countries. I hope it can happen at an early date," Goyal told reporters here. The UK team is here for the

Onion export duty: Auctions begin in Maha APMCs, stop later over low prices

Onion auctions resumed for some time in a few APMCs in Nashik in Maharashtra on Thursday after being stalled since Monday even as more than 500 farmers blocked the Mumbai-Agra highway seeking cancellation of the Union government's decision to impose 40 per cent export duty on the kitchen staple, officials said. Auctions began at the APMCs in Lasalgaon, the largest wholesale onion market in the country, as well as Pimpalgaon and Chandwad in the morning but were stopped some time later after the farmers did not get the Rs 2,410 quintal as promised by NAFED, an apex organisation under the Union Agriculture ministry, and NCCF, they said. Officials said farmers also stopped the auction since personnel from NAFED, or National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited, were absent during the auctions. "In Lasalgaon, as many as 300 vehicles laden with onions arrived for auction in the morning with minimum price per quintal being Rs 600, the maximum being Rs 2,500 and ..

India, US looking at ending poultry dispute at WTO, says official

After mutually resolving six trade disputes with the US at the World Trade Organization (WTO), New Delhi and Washington are now trying to engage in ending their last pending dispute over poultry products, a senior government official said on Thursday. In July, India and the US mutually resolved six trade disputes pending at the WTO, in line with the commitment made by the two countries during the US visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June. The six disputes include three initiated by India and as many by the US. The official said that now the two countries have resolved six out of seven trade disputes, and we are trying to resolve the seventh also. This matter along with some others are expected to figure during the bilateral meeting of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai in New Delhi. The official added that both countries are also exploring participation of their companies in government procurement systems in either .

Competition Comm issues draft regulations for settlement provisions

Fair trade regulator CCI on Wednesday issued the draft regulations for commitment and settlement provisions under the competition law. The provisions, introduced in the Competition Act through the amendments made earlier this year, are aimed at ensuring quicker market correction, according to the Competition Commission of India (CCI). Stakeholders can submit their comments on the draft regulations from August 24 to September 13, according to communications issued by the regulator. A commitment application should be filed within 45 days from the receipt of CCI order on investigation. In the case of a settlement application, the same has to be filed within 45 days f receiving the Director General's report. For both, commitment and settlement applications, the 45-day period could be extended if CCI is satisfied that there is a sufficient cause for extension. "The settlement amount may extend up to the maximum amount of penalty that would have otherwise been leviable under section 27

Smooth functioning of dispute settlement mechanism in WTO reforms: Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said that the smooth functioning of the dispute settlement mechanism and consensus-based decision-making process of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) are key in the process of the reforms of the Geneva-based body. Several developed countries including the US are pitching for WTO reforms. It is also one of the priority areas of discussion in the meeting of trade and investment meetings here. G20 member countries are gathering here for that meeting. Goyal also said that common but differentiated responsibility (CBDR) should be there in the reforms as different countries have different levels of economic development. The dispute resolution mechanism, which is not working properly for the last few years, needs to be re-established consensus based decision-making should continuethese are few central principles, which should be there in the WTO reforms, he told reporters here. Goyal held a bilateral meeting with WTO Director-Gene

Reaching consensus on Jaipur call for action to promote global trade: Goyal

A day ahead of the G20 trade ministers meeting here, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said the member countries are looking at reaching a consensus on a "Jaipur call for action" to help promote industry, MSMEs, and global trade. Representatives of the G20 countries are gathering here for the trade and investment ministerial meeting, scheduled on August 24-25. Briefing the media about the meeting, Goyal said that the officials of the countries have been burning the midnight oil to forge consensus and build a document on the priority areas. When asked whether disagreement among G20 member countries over the Russia-Ukraine conflict is a concern, Goyal said members are trying to build a consensus on as many issues as possible keeping in mind this reality. ".there are some realities on which there is no possibility of a consensus ... barring this we are trying to build a consensus on all the remaining priorities, he added. In February, the meeting of finance lea