Search Result for : Fta

The Dollar Business Bureau NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Thursday it is highly important for India to ratify free trade agreement (FTA) with Europe at the earliest as nations such as Vietnam and Bangladesh already have preferential access to EU markets.  “Countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam are having preferential access in European Markets and hence it is extremely important that we get the FTA with Europe ratified at the earliest,” Kant said while speaking at an event organised by Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC). The Government think tank’s CEO further said there is immense opportunity for India in the apparel sector as China has started moving out of the sector. “Today, the wages in China are 2-3 times that of India and ...

The Dollar Business Bureau As India’s sugar output is estimated to be at record level in the 2018-19 marketing year, expected to result in a surplus, industry body Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) on Thursday requested the Government to seek preferential import duty structure from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. “India’s sugar production may exceed in 2018-19 marketing year than 251 lakh tonnes estimated for the current year. So we may have surplus sugar for exports in 2018-19,” said Abinash Verma, Director General, ISMA, while speaking at the industry body’s 83rd annual general meeting.  Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the two major sugar importers, levy high import duty at $150 per tonne and $100 per tonne on sugar, respectively. The two Asian neighbours procure around ...

The Dollar Business Bureau US and South Korean officials failed to reach an agreement on renegotiating their free trade  pact, which was termed by the US President as a ‘horrible deal’ – a Seoul official revealed to the media today. The Trump administration has been seeking to revise the FTA that was inked under the former President, Barrack Obama, which Trump labelled as a ‘job killer’. "For many, many years, the United States has suffered through massive trade deficits... we'll be changing that," Trump said during a June 30 summit with new South Korean President Moon Jae-In. South Korea, which is US’s seventh largest trading partner, on its part has maintained that there is no clear link between the pact and US trade deficit. ...

The Dollar Business Bureau  The Indian government is planning to bring out a set of procedures to begin investigating the imposition of safeguard duty against imports from South Korea. India and South Korea have signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on January 2010 and a subsequent review in the agreement in 2016, brought forth the reduction/elimination of duties on various products.  The move by the government comes in the wake of a surge of gold imports from South Korea which is worrying the domestic producers. The Indian Revenue department has notified the India-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Bilateral Safeguard Measures) Rules, 2017, for laying out the procedures for such safeguard investigations. This is necessary as India needs to have separate rules ...

The Dollar Business Bureau  Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday that if India and ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) countries were to recognize their full potential for business then they need to fast-track the ‘corridors of connectivity’ to ‘corridors of trade’. “Barriers that impede trade must be removed besides enhanced utilization of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA),” she said while speaking at the ASEAN-India Expo and Forum, being held in Bangkok from August 2-5. Sitharaman said that for trade promotion, the introduction of non-tariff measures such as facilitating customs and operation procedures have to go a long way to ensure smooth movement of goods and services between the partner nations. The Minister termed Act East policy of India as “the pillar of its foreign policy”, ...

The Dollar Business Bureau Various steps have been taken by Government to enhance trade and commercial relations with African countries, the minister for Commerce and Industries told the Upper House. Replying to a question in the Upper House, Nirmala Sitharaman said bilateral trade between India and African countries are reviewed regularly, including through bilateral mechanisms like of Joint Trade Committee Meetings and Joint Commission Meetings. The 4th India-Africa Trade Ministers’ Meeting was organized in New Delhi on October 23, 2015. Negotiations to enter into Free Trade Agreement with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), a Regional Economic Community in Africa, Preferential Trade Agreement with the South African Customs Union (SACU) and a Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Partnership Agreement (CECPA) with Mauritius ...

The Dollar Business Bureau Commerce Ministry said on Monday that the recent round of discussions in Hyderabad for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) would provide a push to the negotiations. Around 700 officials representing 16 nations including Australia and China, gathered in the city during July 17-28 to negotiate the mega trade deal RCEP. It is vital that the RCEP provides a forward looking and positive alternative with regards to rising protectionism across the world, Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia said in a statement. “India is constructively engaged in RCEP and hopes that the 19th RCEP Round in Hyderabad would find innovative ways to provide impetus to the negotiations,” Teaotia said. The Commerce Secretary further said that the real success of RCEP will be assessed ...

The Dollar Business Bureau The influential House Appropriations Committee in its report accompanying the annual Appropriations Bill 2018, said that several policies adopted by the Indian government to boost its economic growth, protect domestic manufacturing, actually discriminated against US exports and investments. 'India, while striving to improve its economic growth, has been enacting a series of policies to increase domestic manufacturing and protect domestic industries and agricultural production that discriminate against US exports and investment,' the Committee said. The report was prepared in conjunction with the US Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee that has several agencies under its control that combat gangs, drug trafficking, violent crime, terrorism espionage, financial fraud; enforcing trade laws; exploring science, space; managing fisheries etc. The Appropriations ...