China on Tuesday retaliated US President Donald Trump's imposition of 2nd round of ten per cent tariffs on its export by slapping an additional 15 per cent tariffs on American goods and initiated legal action against Washington in WTO while leaving the door open for talks to address each other's concerns.
India is all set to achieve the target of one per cent share of the world trade in exports well ahead of schedule, Director General of Foreign Trade L Mansingh asserted on Tuesday.
Gearing up for Trump 2.0 era, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday cautioned there will be no winner in a tariff or tech wars between China and the United States and vowed that Beijing would firmly safeguard its interests.
'But I don't think the government is in a great hurry to sign the BTA.'
United States President Donald Trump on Sunday criticised the trade deficits that the US has with Canada, Mexico, China, and argued that America should no longer 'subsidise' other countries, and urged businesses to manufacture domestically to avoid tariffs.
If pharmaceutical exports from India to the US come under a 25 per cent tariff bracket, the impact on earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) could be around 5 per cent, felt analysts. This is after assuming that about 75 per cent of the tariff would be passed on.
Sections in the US State Department and Pentagon have always felt more comfortable dealing with all powerful Pakistani generals instead of elected civilians, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
The escalation of conflict in the West Asian region is expected to push already high logistics costs besides hurting trade in sectors such as oil, electronics and agriculture, according to exporters. They said that insurance costs for exports to the countries directly involved in the war could also go up, which will impact Indian exporters' working capital. Think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) stated that the conflict is already hurting India's trade with countries like Israel, Jordan, and Lebanon.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar says Operation Sindoor conveyed India's resolve to act against terrorism, following UN Security Council's call to bring Pahalgam attackers to justice.
Jaishankar said the UN Security Council condemned the attack and underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of the reprehensible act and bring them to justice.
India and China should build on 'good progress' in normalising the bilateral ties to address border-related issues including de-escalation, and it is essential to avoid 'restrictive trade measures and roadblocks', External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday during talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
In a statement, the Chinese ministry of commerce said that it would file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organisation against the US for its "wrongful practice," the Global Times reported.
The current instability in the world is a result of long term systemic and socio-politico problems, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'At Keeladi, we have not come across any evidence for organised religion.'
India and the US have mutually resolved all six trade disputes pending at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), in line with the commitment made by the two countries during the US visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month, an official said. The official said that both countries have informed the WTO's dispute settlement body (DSB) about the resolution of all the pending disputes. The WTO has already issued a communication with regard to one of the disputes related to the imposition of additional customs duties by India on 28 US products.
American President Donald Trump has announced imposing reciprocal tariffs on its major trading partners including China that levy higher import duties on goods shipped from the United States. He has already announced a 25 per cent duty on steel and aluminium imports, which will come into effect from March 12.
The US wants India to recognise internationally accredited labs, harmonise labelling requirements and the validity period of test reports and certification with global practices, and eliminate retesting requirements.
In his address, Singh said there should be "no double standards" in combating terrorism and urged the SCO member nations to condemn the menace with unity.
India should convert the Trump threat to an India opportunity, re-embracing a more liberal trade regime as a way of reviving manufacturing output and exports.
The government's initiative to migrate SEZ data from NSDL software to ICEGATE system for streamlined reporting of import data caused double counting of gold imports, resulting in inflated figures and the issue has now been largely rectified, government sources said. The downward revision has provided the actual picture of trade deficit (difference between imports and exports), which was earlier looking very high. The deficit for November will now be revised downwards from $37.84 billion to about $32.8 billion. Similarly, there will be a revision in overall import numbers as well.
'We have to be prepared for the larger disruption that is likely to take place.'
India on Monday imposed a 12 per cent provisional safeguard duty for 200 days on five steel product categories, including hot rolled coils, sheets and plates, to protect domestic players from surge in imports. The decision follows a recommendation for the same by the Commerce Ministry's investigation arm DGTR. Last month, the DGTR suggested to impose the duty.
A step away from nuclear weapons being used in conflicts, warns Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
India succeeded in busting the Pakistani narrative on Operation Sindoor, particularly among the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) member nations, where Islamabad sought succour after carrying out terror activities across the border, Shiv Sena leader Shrikant Shinde said.
Nine years after New Delhi started implementing its Plan B - bilateral trade agreements - to beat the impasse at the World Trade Organisation's Doha Round of liberalisation talks, India seems to be finally rolling.
World Bank on Wednesday asked developed countries to work out a "trade deal" including removal of trade barriers to accelerate growth in the developing nations.
India's exports declined by 2.83 per cent to $33.90 billion in November this year compared to $34.89 billion a year ago, government data released on Friday showed. Imports also declined to $54.48 billion in the month under consideration, as against $56.95 billion recorded in November 2022.
With Donald Trump all set to become US president, Indian exporters may face high customs duties for goods like automobiles, textiles and pharmaceuticals if the new US administration decides to pursue the 'America First' agenda, opined trade experts. Experts also said that Trump could also tighten H-1B visa rules, impacting costs and growth for Indian IT firms. Over 80 per cent of India's IT export earnings come from the US, making it vulnerable to changes in visa policies.
The Rs 1-trillion Research Development and Innovation (RDI) fund, which was announced in the July budget for FY25, of which Rs 20,000 crore has already been allocated, will be operationalised in the next two to three months, a top official said.
American sourcing firms and exporters in China are approaching Indian companies to supply goods to the US as high tariffs imposed by Washington are making it difficult for them to ship directly to America, apex exporters' body FIEO said on Monday. The US has imposed 145 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods entering the American market. For India, the duty is just 10 per cent.
>The Indian Army still uses old British-era names and recruits soldiers based on caste or region, which hurts national unity, argues Colonel K Thammayya Udupa (retd).
The US is currently Earth's most powerful country and a certain latitude of understanding -- a world view -- is popularly expected from its leadership. From a country identified with freedom, constitution, debate, democracy and the likes of Abraham Lincoln even as it had the most powerful military around, the US, following Trump's actions, seemed repositioned as militarily powerful with other qualities secondary, observes Shyam G Menon.
China appears determined to upgrade Pakistan's military capabilities, sufficient to ensure local parity with India, alerts former foreign secretary Ambassador Shyam Saran.
I'...additional concessions, such as opening government procurement, reducing agricultural subsidies, weakening patent protections, and allowing unrestricted data flows -- demands India has resisted for decades.'
'Entering India is exciting, but it's also challenging. You have to be prepared for long-term investment.'
Who accompanied Prime Minister Narendra D Modi to his Thursday meeting with US President Donald J Trump in the Oval Office, and who did POTUS bring along?
We must bring a laser focus on our own interests, and define our friends and foes more clearly instead of trying to live by somebody else's rules. We must grow up, think for ourselves, think India First, asserts R Jagannathan.
Operation Sindoor has carved out a new benchmark in our fight against terrorism, and has set up a new parameter and new normal. Operation Sindoor is not just a name but a reflection of the emotions of millions of Indians. Operation Sindoor is an unwavering pledge for justice. Terrorists dared to wipe 'sindoor' from the foreheads of our sisters; that is why India destroyed the very headquarters of terror.
Saina Nehwal joined millions of devotees at the world's largest spiritual gathering, seeking blessings at the sacred Triveni Sangam.
Presenting the full text of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation on May 12, 2025, in which he dictated India's new doctrines on countering terrorism.
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