India’s exports to improve in 2016, says report
Exports from India and Vietnam are expected to improve in 2016 as their outbound shipments are mostly directed to advanced economies of Europe and North America, a United Nations (UN) report has said. The ‘Asia Pacific Trade and Investment Report 2015’ released by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) has indicated that the countries which are heavily dependent on China for their domestic requirements are likely to suffer due to the ongoing slowdown in that country. Several Asian countries, especially China, India, Japan and Singapore, have dominated trade activities in Asia-Pacific regions in the last decade, accounting for over half of the region’s total trade. “During the past decade, developing economies have been recording growing shares of total regional services exporters, especially China and India. From 2005 to 2014, China’s exports increased from 15% to 17% of the region’s total exports while India’s share grew from 9% to 11%,” UN ESCAP said in its release. In 2015, share of India’s import also went up by 9.4%, while China and Japan continued to import more, accounting for 12.2% and 24.4% respectively. “In 2016, trade performances are expected to vary widely across countries, depending on the regional intensity of their trade,” said the global body. The report also said that India and Indonesia took 22 and 28 new trade-restrictive measures, the largest among other Asian-Pacific countries. A majority of such measures came in form of tariff hike. India remained the top initiator of the new trade remedies, especially putting anti-dumping initiations. So far, it has taken 34 such initiatives. “Many developing countries in the region, including China, India, the Republic of Korea and Thailand are also introducing preferential schemes,” the report said. The international body also sought participation from more countries in the global value chains (GVCs) as it would open up new opportunities for low-income countries. The report also suggested Indian authorities to take structural reforms in order to improve its business environment and match China’s role in the region’s trade. “India still has a long way to go to match China's role in the region's trade and investment flows. India's success will depend on its ability to accelerate the implementation of necessary structural reforms in order to improve its business and investment environment,” it said. In 2014, India attracted FDI inflows worth $34 billion, up 22% from the previous year. At the same time, the report said that the amount was only about a quarter of FDI received in China.
November 03, 2015 | 3:55pm IST.
to success.