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.
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
US Vice President JD Vance called on India to drop non-tariff barriers, give greater access to its markets and buy more American energy products and military hardware. Vance, in a speech in Jaipur, highlighted the need for a stronger US-India partnership for a prosperous and peaceful 21st century. He emphasized the importance of working together to address global challenges and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, describing him as a "special person." Vance also urged India to provide greater market access to American products and buy more defense platforms and energy from the US. He suggested that India consider dropping some of the non-tariff barriers for American access to the Indian market and highlighted the benefits of closer India-US defense collaboration, advocating for New Delhi to procure more military hardware from the US. He cited the example of American fifth-generation F-35s, arguing they would give the Indian Air Force the ability to defend its airspace and protect its people like never before. Vance also welcomed the Modi government's budget announcement to amend India's civil nuclear liability laws, paving the way for US producers to export small modular reactors and build larger US-designed reactors in India. He emphasized the importance of energy security for India's AI ambitions, stating "there is no AI future without energy security and energy dominance." Vance's visit comes amid growing global concerns over the US's tariff war.
'Balancing tunnel developments with ecological realities is a major challenge and, when overlooked, can contribute to mishaps.'
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.
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.
The first issue in engaging with Pakistan is the cessation of terrorism, India's envoy at the United Nations said, underlining that India has been a long-standing victim of cross-border and global terrorism and has zero tolerance towards the scourge.
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.
'We need to raise the costs and consequences for Pakistan. It is long overdue. Our initial surgical strike was effective for about six months. Then, the Balakot strike provided a deterrent for perhaps two to three years. But we cannot operate under the assumption that such limited responses will suffice for decades to come.'
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.
Musk said on Friday that he believes India-US ties are "trending positive" and that he favours an enhanced trade partnership between the two nations.
'The startup ecosystem, the government, and the owners of large pools of Indian capital need to actively support the creation of these local champions, not pull down the teams that are trying hard to get there.'
The group waving separatist flags was barricaded and monitored by a significant police presence outside the venue on Wednesday night, with officers rushing to restrain the man as he ran past the barricade in an attempt to block the path of the minister's car pulling at an Indian flag.
'We don't have to compete with Maharashtra or Gujarat. We have to now start thinking about how we compete with the United States or China.'
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.
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.
The government has revised gold import data, bringing down numbers for November by $5 billion to $9.84 billion, possibly to rectify double accounting of inbound shipments. According to revised data of the commerce ministry arm Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS), gold import numbers have been slashed since April 2024, revealing excess imports of about $11.7 billion during the first eight months of 2024-25.
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
'...We should first look at and acknowledge what we have done to ourselves.' 'To not do so opens us to the accusation of rank hypocrisy and also reduces the stature of our globetrotting peaceniks,' asserts Aakar Patel.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron have called for enhancing trade and investment ties between their countries and committed to further deepening their engagement in the Indo-Pacific. They discussed a full spectrum of bilateral relations, including key global and regional issues, and stressed the urgent need for reform in the United Nations Security Council. The leaders also underscored their commitment to ensuring the global AI sector can drive positive social, economic, and environmental outcomes.
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.
In the Union Budget for Financial Year 2023-24 (FY24), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had held forth on the need for better governance and investor protection in the banking sector. She had proposed certain amendments to the Reserve Bank of India Act (RBI Act), 1934; the Banking Regulation Act (BR Act), 1949; and the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970.
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
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
With the Bali deal settled, countries should now focus on long pending issues such as market access and reduction in green goods tariff
Foreign policy expert C Raja Mohan has said that the recent disengagement of troops with China in eastern Ladakh has given a small opening to India, but the "big issues" remain. He also stressed the importance of strengthening India's ties with the US for technological and economic growth.
The European Union on Wednesday got the go-ahead to hit the United States with a record $4.04 billion in trade sanctions in a long-running row over tax breaks for major exporting firms, trade officials said.
'When so many young Baloch men and women are willingly volunteering as fighters and even suicide bombers.'
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