India can either impose anti-dumping duties or safeguard duties to tackle import surges.
In fact, only two out of India's top five export destinations witnessed an increase in exports during the period. Total exports from the country had expanded 17.5 per cent during the period and stood at $118.25 billion.
Proceedings for imposing safeguard duty on Chinese Nylon Tyre Cord Fabric have already been initiated by the DGS on February 6 this year. Significantly, these moves to protect the domestic industry come at a time when India's industrial production contracted for two consecutive months ending January, 2009.
With orders drying up from the overseas markets, the council projects an export growth of 15 per cent in 2008-09 to nearly $38.8 billion, against the 27.4 per cent rise ($33.72 billion) seen in the previous year. This will be the lowest expansion in engineering goods exports in seven years. A sample survey of about 30 SMEs conducted by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations points towards the job losses in the sector.
India may not charge import duty on personal artefacts of Mahatma Gandhi, which were bought by liquor baron Vijay Mallya in an auction at New York. Moreover, the country is also going to relax import restriction on all items of historical significance of Indian origin.A pair of steel-rimmed spectacles and sandals, a Zenith pocket watch, an eating bowl and a plate went under the hammer in New York and the UB Group chairman successfully bid for them for $1.8 million.
India's sea ports do not have equipment to detect radioactive or contaminated consignments, exposing the country to security and safety risks, besides damaging reputation of goods manufactured in the country.
A draft report prepared by Members of the European Parliament could potentially derail negotiations between India and the European Union, the country's largest trade partner, on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement involving duty-free trade of goods, services and investment. The report has called for the inclusion of human rights and democracy issues in the CEPA talks and an international investigation into "extra judicial killings" in Jammu & Kashmir.
"The fact that not many FTAs were sealed shows the cautious approach of the policy makers," said Ram Upendra Das, fellow, Research and Information System for Developing Countries. "But India has recognised that these duty-free agreements are the order of the day as other countries are engaging in similar deals. Indian exporters will be left out if the nation does not engage in these types of agreements with its trading partners," he added.
More time for fulfilling export obligations also likely.
India's import bill contracted for the first time in almost nine years during January 2009, led by crude oil and capital goods, which constitute nearly half the total imports.
A dip in petroleum product exports for the first time in the current fiscal has contributed to a 22 per cent decline in merchandise exports in January, commerce ministry data reveals.
Broad consensus is emerging within a Group of Ministers chaired by finance and external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee on a proposal seeking comprehensive changes in the foreign direct investment policy. This includes scrapping automatic approval in sectors that have FDI limits and in which ownership or control is shifting to a foreign company, and a new definition for calculating indirect foreign equity.
For the first time since its inception in 2006, the Board of Approval on special economic zones in its next meeting in March will take up a proposal from a developer to merge these tax-free industrial enclaves for exports.
The IIP rate had dipped by 0.4 per cent in November, for the first time since the new series for the IIP was introduced in financial year 1993-94, mainly due to poor performance of manufacturing, which has nearly 80 per cent weight in the index.
The government has already allowed reimbursement of service tax on about 19 services used by exporters while selling goods overseas. These include commission paid to foreign agents whose services are subscribed by exporters to book orders with overseas clients. However, a list of 16 services used by exporters is not reimbursed. These include service tax paid on bank charges, packaging services and travel agents' services.
Initial commerce ministry estimates suggest a 10 per cent contraction in exports in December. Coming after 12 and 9.9 per cent falls in October and November respectively, India is unlikely to meet the export target of $ 200 billion in the current fiscal. The last quarterly dip occurred in 2001, when exports were in the negative territory for six consecutive months ending December that year, data provided by the Reserve Bank of India and the commerce ministry showed.
Mumbai-based infrastructure conglomerate Essar group has withdrawn its plans to build a 1,125 hectare Special Economic Zone in Jamnagar because of the adverse economic environment, a commerce ministry official said. The proposal was to set up a 16-20-million-metric-tonne-a-year petrochemical refinery at an investment of Rs 15,000 crore, one of the largest SEZ proposals, according to information available on the company's website.
Secretaries' panel fails to arrive at a decision. Sources told Business Standard the commerce ministry felt that the delay would add to the cost for the government as more and more factories could shut shop.
The commerce ministry has written to its finance counterpart suggesting that domestic banks should share 50 per cent of losses arising out of derivative contracts that exporters have taken to protect against currency fluctuations.
India is not convinced that the new texts on agriculture and non-agricultural market access released by the World Trade Organization last Saturday would lead to consensus among members, though some of its concerns have been addressed with caveats.
© 2025 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances