Resuming trade talks after a gap of five years, India and Japan on Friday committed themselves to enhance the miniscule $3.5 billion bilateral trade and resolved to address impediments like the rigid labour laws.
India and the United Kingdom on Monday expressed keenness to boost bilateral trade and emphasised on the need to end the World Trade Organisation stalemate.
The US asked India on Monday to reduce barriers for increasing bilateral trade and expressed hope of forward movement in the stalled WTO talks.
'Entering India is exciting, but it's also challenging. You have to be prepared for long-term investment.'
Notwithstanding all the talk and euphoria over the progress in terms of US-India trade and investment, US Trade Representative Susan Schwab said that India punches way below its weight when it comes to global trade.
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.
WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said his meetings with the US, China, India, and Brazil over the last fortnight revealed that the gaps in positions among members are too wide
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.
China appears determined to upgrade Pakistan's military capabilities, sufficient to ensure local parity with India, alerts former foreign secretary Ambassador Shyam Saran.
The 'mediation' by the United States from behind the scene on the diplomatic track appears to be once again working, which calls on both Delhi and Islamabad to show restraint and pull back from a military confrontation, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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.
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.
>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 fresh initiative by Commerce Minister Anand Sharma to meet ambassadors of the key members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Geneva, in a bid to revive the deadlocked Doha round of trade negotiations, is well-timed though a positive outcome may be doubtful.
A fresh US executive order (EO) which seeks to bring down prices of prescription drugs in the country by up to 90 per cent -- on par with other developed nations -- will affect innovator companies, while sparing the Indian generic drug makers in the short term. US President Donald Trump signed the EO on Monday, directing the US Trade Representative and the Secretary of Commerce to act against foreign countries that "purposefully and unfairly undercut market prices", driving price hikes in the US.
India's merchandise exports rose by 9.1 per cent to $38.13 billion in May even as the trade deficit widened to a seven-month high of $23.78 billion during the month, according to government data. Healthy growth in sectors, such as engineering, electronics, pharmaceuticals, textiles and plastics helped register growth in exports despite global economic uncertainties.
The United States Trade Representative Robert Zoellick has invited key trade ministers including India's and European Union's for a meeting in London this month end to find ways to move forward in the World Trade Organisation.
The protest, organised by Global Justice Now, wants the World Trade Organisation to suspend the enforcement of patents for coronavirus vaccines to enable poorer countries to inoculate their populations.
World Trade Organisation (WTO) states appeared to edge closer towards a crucial deal on cheaper medicines for poor countries to help them face emergencies such as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
India on Tuesday said it was making a last ditch effort to revive the collapsed WTO talks but made it clear that it would not allow industrialised nations to trample developing countries' interest, especially in the sensitive farm sector.
India on Wednesday blocked an attempt by a group of WTO countries led by China to push an investment facilitation pact in the agenda of the ministerial conference here, a move which may ensure that the proposal is unlikely to be part of the final outcome document, an official said. The 13th Ministerial Conference (MC-13) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is underway. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, along with his team, is here for the meeting, which started on February 26.
A World Trade Organisation panel ruled against India on Friday in a row with the United States over textiles, handing Washington a victory after several high profile trade dispute defeats.\n\n\n\n
The dramatic moves of Donald Trump, which have shaken up the global order, dominated the discussion. A sense of bewilderment prevailed, but there was also expectation that President Trump would settle down to a more traditional style of governance after a time of shock and awe, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, an attendee at literary festivals in Calicut, Jaipur, Kochi, Sharjah and Thiruvanathapuram.
In a bid to break the deadlock on multilateral trade issues after the collapse of WTO's Cancun Ministerial, G-20 developing countries on agriculture will hold a meeting with EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy on December 12.
India on Wednesday said it had scored a significant gain at the World Trade Organisation in a dispute with European Community over tariff preferences extended by the latter.\n\n\n\n
The United States argued that it had not had an outbreak of high pathogenic avian flu since 2004, while India had 90 such outbreaks between 2004 and 2014
With the Bali deal settled, countries should now focus on long pending issues such as market access and reduction in green goods tariff
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