Page 41 - Trade

Govt caps amount of interest subvention at Rs 10 cr per IEC holder

The government on Thursday capped the amount of interest subvention at Rs 10 crore per IEC (import-export code) holder in one financial year. In March last year, the RBI extended the interest equalisation scheme for pre and post-shipment rupee credit for MSME exporters till March 2024 with the objective of boosting outbound shipments. Exporters get subsidies under the 'Interest Equalisation Scheme for pre and post-shipment Rupee Export Credit'. "The annual net subvention amount would be capped at Rs 10 crore per IEC in a given financial year. All disbursements made from April 1, 2023, shall be counted for an IEC for the current financial year," the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said in a trade notice. The interest equalisation rates under the scheme have been revised to 2 per cent and 3 per cent for specified categories of MSME manufacturer exporters. Import-Export Code (IEC) is an important document required to undertake the business of inbound and outbound shipment

India, Australia working on comprehensive trade agreement: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said India and Australia are working on a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), and exuded confidence that the bilateral trade will more than double in five years. The two countries have already signed India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), he said expressing hope the pact will help in doubling the two-way commerce in the next five years. Addressing a community event at Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena, the Prime Minister said the two countries are now working on CECA. "We are building a resilient and reliable supply chain. This will strengthen the business of both countries," he said. Modi, who is visiting Australia as a guest of the Australian government, said the air connectivity between India and Australia has increased and the number of flights would go up further in the coming days. Australia was the 13th largest trading partner of India in 2022-23. While exports stood at USD 6.95 billion, imports from

Digital technologies will be key factor in future trade: WTO chief

The chief of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) said on Tuesday that digital technologies will serve as a key factor that affects trade in the future

PM Modi, Vietnamese PM discuss expanding cooperation in trade, technology

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held wide-ranging talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh and discussed expanding cooperation in areas like trade and investment, defence and energy. The two leaders met on the sidelines of the summit of the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies in Hiroshima. "Propelling - ties to new levels. Wide-ranging talks between PM @narendramodi and PM Pham Minh Chinh of Vietnam," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) tweeted. "Leaders discussed expanding cooperation in the fields of trade and investment, defence, building resilient supply chains, energy, science & technology, human resource development, culture & people to people ties," it said. Talks also covered regional developments as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, it added. ASEAN nations include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The .

Commerce Ministry to hold Chintan Shivir to discuss ways to promote trade

The Commerce and Industry Ministry will hold a two-day Chintan Shivir to discuss ways to promote manufacturing trade, investments, startups, logistics and import substitution, among others, an official said on Thursday. On May 19, the Department of Commerce will be holding a series of sessions on issues such as team building; expediting trade and investment promotion efforts; export strategy on goods and services; import substitution, reducing sub-standard imports and promoting manufacturing through PLI (production linked incentive). Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, Ministers of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash and Anupriya Patel will address the ministry officials. On May 20, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) will hold sessions on subjects like innovate in India (startups and intellectual property rights) and the future-ready logistics sector, the official said. India's exports contracted by 12.7 per cent, the third month in

India's exports fall 12.7% in April; trade deficit at 20-month low

Demand scenario not 'very optimistic': DGFT

India's April merchandise and services trade deficit at 21-month low

April merchandise exports were $34.66 billion, down from $38.38 billion in March, while imports fell to $49.90 billion from $58.11 billion, data showed

India, EFTA trade pact to boost commerce, investment, job creation

A free trade agreement between India and four-nation bloc EFTA will help enhance two-way commerce, investment flows, job creation and economic growth, an official statement said on Monday. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who is in Brussels, has discussed modalities of engagement for working towards a comprehensive Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) with representatives of European Free Trade Association (EFTA) states - Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. On April 26 here, both sides discussed ways to resume negotiations for the agreement. India and the EFTA statesdiscussed the modalities of engagement for working towards a comprehensive TEPA, a press communique issued after conclusion of the talks said. It said the delegations agreed to ramp up their efforts and continue discussions at a steady pace, with several more meetings planned over the coming months, to arrive at a common understanding on critical issues pertaining to TEPA. Both si

Netherlands emerges as India's third largest trading partner in 2022-23

The Netherlands has emerged as India's third largest exports destination after the US and UAE during 2022-23 on account of a surge in shipment of goods such as petroleum products, electronic items, chemicals, and aluminium goods, according to the data of the commerce ministry. India's trade surplus with the Netherlands has also increased from USD 8 billion in 2021-22 to USD 13 billion in 2022-23. The Netherlands has taken over major destinations such as the UK, Hong Kong, Bangladesh and Germany, the data showed. India's exports to the Netherlands rose by about 48 per cent to USD 18.52 billion during 2022-23 as against USD 12.5 billion in 2021-22. In 2021-22 and 2020-21, the outbound shipments to the European country stood at USD 12.55 billion and USD 6.5 billion, respectively. The exports are registering healthy growth continuously since 2000-01, when India's exports to that nation was USD 880 million. Further, in 2021-22, the Netherlands was the fifth largest destination for Indi

BRICS countries urged to expand inter-trade instead of with other countries

The BRICS countries need to urgently expand trade with each other rather than with the rest of the world, a top official of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has said and offered technical support from the UN agency towards the realisation of such a goal. BRICS includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Jens Dyring Christensen, Senior Specialist in Enterprise Development and Management at the ILO, made the comment on Wednesday while speaking on the topic 'BRICS Productivity Ecosystems' at the bloc's second Employment Working Group (EWG). What we find is that trade with the United States is six times higher than within BRICS member states. What is needed is to expand inter-BRICS trade, he said. The meeting, which took place in South Africa's Port Alfred, is one of several preparatory ones ahead of the BRICS Summit scheduled to take place in Johannesburg in August. The heads of state of the five partner countries in the bloc are all expected to attend the ...

India-UAE trade partnership transforming bilateral partnership: DPIIT Secy

The free trade agreement between India and the UAE has transformed the partnership between the two countries by promoting two-way commerce at a healthy rate, an official statement said on Tuesday. The agreement came into force on May 1 last year. Addressing a business gathering in Dubai, Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Rajesh Kumar Singh said that initial gains of the pact have already started accruing with bilateral trade growing at around 20 per cent and touching an "all-time" high of around USD 84 billion during 2022-23. Singh, along with Juma Mohammed Al-Kait, Assistant Undersecretary for International Trade, Ministry of Economy, United Arab Emirates and Sunjay Sudhir, Ambassador of India to the UAE, inaugurated the International Jewellery Exposition Centre in Dubai. Around 100 companies from India and UAE, including representatives from Export Promotion Councils from India, have participated in the expo. The secretary also held

Indian Energy Exchange trade volume grows 6% to 7,928 mn units in Apr

Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) on Thursday said its total trade volume increased by 6 per cent on a yearly basis to 7,928 million units (MU) in April. In a statement, the power trading exchange said "it achieved 7,928 MU overall volume in April 2023, including green market trade of 280 MU, 1.99 lac RECs (equivalent to 199 MU) and 1.23 lac ESCerts (equivalent to 123 MU)." The overall volume during the month was higher 6 per cent on a year-o-year (y-o-y) basis. The price during April 2023 was Rs 5.41 per unit unit, a fall of 46 per cent y-o-y from Rs 10 a unit in April 2022, due to improving supply-side scenario leading to increased liquidity, as well as cooler weather conditions. Trade commenced at the High Price DAM (HAM) segment, with 193 MWh (megawatt hour) volume during the month. This segment allows high-cost generators, such as -- gas-based power generators, imported coal-based plants and battery-energy storage systems -- to sell electricity on the market. While an increase in

India, Russia suspend negotiations to settle trade in rupees: Report

India and Russia have suspended efforts to settle bilateral trade in rupees, after months of negotiations failed to convince Moscow to keep rupees in its coffers

India's exports to UAE likely to grow by 60% to $50 billion by 2026-27

Under the free trade agreement domestic exporters in various sectors like textiles, agriculture, dry fruits, gems and jewellery are getting duty-free access to the UAE market

IFL Enterprises Limited secures export orders worth $8.16 million

IFL Enterprises Ltd secured export orders worth USD 8.16 million Approx. Rs. 67 crore

India building 7,200 km transport corridor to counter China's BRI

The 7,200 km long International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) connecting India and Russia is now rapidly coming to life after remaining a slow starter for years

Trade turnover between India, Dominican Republic has reached $1 bn: EAM

On the agreement signed between India and Dominican Republic, the EAM said the two countries concluded talks on a joint economic and trade cooperation JETCO mechanism

Japan to restore preferential trade status for South Korea: Official

Japan's trade ministry on Friday said it has begun procedures to restore preferential trade status for South Korea, days after Seoul took a similar step for Tokyo and requested reciprocity, and more than three years after the countries downgraded each other during a bitter historical dispute. Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said talks with South Korea this month showed that its controls over trade in sensitive materials with both civilian and military uses are now as effective as those used by Japan. It said it has proposed as a result that South Korea be restored to the list of countries which receive preferential Japanese trading status, subject to a month-long public comment period ending May 31. The list currently contains 26 nations including the United States, Britain, Canada, France and Germany. The step would end a trade dispute that began in July 2019 when Japan removed South Korea from its white list of countries given fast-track approvals in trade, in ...

India, EFTA nations discuss prospects of resuming FTA negotiations

The development comes in the backdrop of a meeting between high-level delegations from India and EFTA to boost bilateral trade and economic partnership

Indo-Korea bilateral trade grows 17% to record $27.8 bn in 2022: Kotra

The bilateral trade between India and Korea grew by 17.3 per cent to USD 27.8 billion in 2022, according to Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA). In 2021, the value of bilateral trade between the two countries stood at USD 23.7 billion. Korea's exports to India increased by 21 per cent to USD 18.9 billion, while imports increased by 10.5 per cent to USD 8.9 billion. Addressing India-Korea Future Industry Partnership Event 2023, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to India Chang Jae-bok on Wednesday said, "India and Korea must focus on the critical issue of green energy and learn from each other's strengths. Green energy, hydrogen energy, and EVs are the future, and Korea's leadership in producing EVs since 2005 is an excellent example for India". The two-day event is organised as part of a 50-year celebration of the India-Korea diplomatic relationship. Through collaboration and cooperation, both countries can further emphasise the importance of adopting green energy and