China has toned down its rhetoric on fighting a trade or any other type of war with the US, saying that no such wars should be fought because they cannot be won. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian responded to US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth's remarks that his country doesn't seek a war with China, but will rebuild the military and prepare for war. However, on Tuesday, Lin had said that China is ready to fight till the end if the US wants a trade war or any other type of war. Hegseth said on Wednesday that the US is not actively seeking conflict with China, but is rebuilding its military and establishing deterrence.
'We may see even more restrictive policies during 2.0.'
The impact of Trump's announcement of increasing import tariffs will have negligible benefit for India not because of companies trying to shift from China to other countries or their supply chains being affected due to their Chinese operations but because of our faulty policies, explains Mudit Jain.
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.
The Budget has given signals that India is sensitive to the US needs and willing to walk the extra mile, but if need be, we should respond in equal measure as a sovereign nation, notes Ajay Srivastava.
Trump said India and China - the two economic giants from Asia - are no longer developing nations and as such they cannot take benefit from the WTO.
The United Kingdom extracted USD 64.82 trillion from India over a century of colonialism between 1765 and 1900 and USD 33.8 trillion of this went to the richest 10 per cent -- enough money to carpet London in notes of 50 British pound almost four times over.
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 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.
The Budget should undertake further reductions in import tariffs and seriously consider an announcement of India's intention to join one or both of the two Asian mega-regional free trade agreements, suggests Shankar Acharya, former chief economic adviser to the Government of India.
The EU is challenging the introduction of import duties on a wide range of ICT products, for instance mobile phones and components, base stations, integrated circuits and optical instruments
Chinese ambassador to India, Xu Feihong, on Wednesday expressed hope that the recently completed Indo-China border disengagement in Eastern Ladakh would smoothen relations and pave the way for a better understanding between the two neighbours in the days ahead.
India and the US are engaged in Geneva, the WTO headquarters, to sort out the food stockpiling issue and end the stalemate.
The decision preceded long hours of tense negotiations and last minute hiccups from Argentina and Pakistan
The fate of the ministerial conference was sealed after assistant US trade representative Sharon Bomer Lauritsen said permanent solution to the food stockholding issue was not acceptable to America.
Modi's Made in India dream takes a beating
At the meeting of the 160-member World Trade Organisation in Geneva on Friday, India demanded a halt to the trade facilitation timetable till a permanent solution on public stockholding for food security is found.
Developed nations want the WTO to discuss new issues.
A permanent solution on food security is a must for for India.
This was a very strong position and was criticised by many, both from the developed and developing world.
The proposals will be reviewed by the World Trade Organization's General Council.
Withdrawing a blanket ban on overseas shipments of non-basmati white rice, the government on Saturday imposed a floor price of $490 per tonne and exempted the commodity from export duty. Exports of non-basmati white rice have been banned since July 20, 2023 to boost domestic supply. "The export policy for non-basmati white rice (semi-milled or wholly milled rice, whether or not polished or gazed) ...is amended from prohibited to free, subject to MEP (minimum export price) of $490 per tonne with immediate effect and until further orders," the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said in a notification.
India supports dialogue and diplomacy and not war, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) Summit in Kazan, Russia on Wednesday, in an unambiguous message calling for resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict through peaceful negotiations.
The agreement could substantially reduce transaction times and costs and would unlock new opportunities for both rich and poor countries.
For the first time in the last eight years, India would not have any representative for the post of deputy director general.
The WTO has fixed an external reference price (ERP) for rice at Rs 3.52 per kg
2016 will be the first time in 15 years that the ratio between trade growth and world GDP will fall below 1:1
Protectionist and exclusionary FTAs weaken multilateralism.
From toys, footwear and furniture to insulated flasks, smart meters, and air coolers - the Central government over the last decade has mandated higher standards for production and imports of such items. Sample this: Till 2014, there were 14 Quality Control Orders (QCOs) covering 106 products. By the latest count, there are 156 QCOs on 672 products.
The government said that far from targeting any US entity, the purpose was to ensure fairness, healthy competition, and to exercise the ability of governments to tax businesses having a nexus with the Indian market through digital operations.
India's food security concern at WTO needs solution: Modi
So far, WTO members have jointly respected and honoured the Bali commitments.
According to the final draft of the negotiating text circulated by WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo among trade ministers of the 159 member countries on Wednesday night, on public stockholding for food security purposes, a developing country like India can provide subsidies for farm support even if those exceed the permissible 10 per cent cap.
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Global goods trade will grow by 3.3 per cent this year, says WTO.
Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said he talked to WTO Director General Pascal Lamy and told him that this was not a text of convergence, but nevertheless forms the basis for further intensive negotiations to restart in September.
Addressing the food security concerns is important as India is still has 190 million hungry people, Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth said at an event organised by a global think-tank The Club of Rome.
China said on Monday the additional barriers set by India for investors from specific countries violate the World Trade Organisation's principle of non-discrimination, and go against the general trend of liberalisation and facilitation of trade and investment. "More importantly, they do not conform to the consensus of G20 leaders and trade ministers to realise a free, fair, non-discriminatory, transparent, predictable and stable trade and investment environment, and to keep our markets open," said a statement issued by the Chinese embassy in New Delhi.
India is threatening to block the World Trade Organization (WTO)'s trade facilitation agreement (TFA) reached at Bali last year unless its agricultural policies are permanently excluded from multilateral scrutiny.
The US agreed to India's proposal on food security issues at WTO on Thursday.
The US is reviewing the suggestion that the border security bill, that significantly increases visa fees of H1-B and L1 categories, was not WTO compliant, days after President Barack Obama signed it into law.
