Commerce Minister Kamal Nath will lead the Indian delegation at the World Trade Organisation mini-ministerial meet in the Kenyan capital of Mombasa from March 2-4.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Gopal K Pillai said the agriculture text proposals on the special safeguard mechanism were not acceptable to India. A country can use the SSM to impose up to 50 per cent additional import duty on farm products which have seen a surge in imports.
The country's current account deficit is likely to hit a three-year high of 1.8 per cent or $43.81 billion in FY22, as against a surplus of 0.9 per cent or $23.91 billion in FY21, a report said on Thursday. According to an assessment by India Ratings, the Current Account Deficit (CAD) has moderated to $17.3 billion or 1.96 per cent of GDP in the fourth quarter of FY22 as against $8.2 billion or 1.03 per cent in the year-ago period, and massively down from $23.02 billion or 2.74 per cent in Q3, which was a 13-quarter high. The improvement in the key numbers are due to the remarkable improvement in merchandise exports in FY22, when it grew 42.4 per cent as against a negative 7.5 per cent in the pandemic-hit FY121.
India on Wednesday warned WTO members of backlash in developing countries if economic reforms were perceived to be an imposition from outside.
Commerce and Industry Minister Arun Jaitley will lead the Indian delegation to the World Trade Organisation mini- ministerial at Sharm-el-Sheikh in Cairo, beginning June 20.\n\n\n\n
In 2007, India slashed the additional customs duty it charged on imported (which were up to 150 per cent of value of imports depending on the spirits), but simultaneously hiked the basic customs duties to 150 per cent from 100 per cent.
At the World Bank Banga will be replacing David Malpass, a former Trump treasury official, reports axios.com. Malpass had already announced that he will resign by July, months ahead of his term expired. "Ajay is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history," President Biden said in a statement. Banga, 63, currently serves as vice chairman at General Atlantic.
The World Trade Organisation General Council is likely to meet in the third week of July to consider the Framework on Agriculture.
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.
Britain on Thursday said it was unlikely that the next World Trade Organisation Ministerial will be held this year, indicating that completion of the Doha Development Round of trade negotiations will miss the deadline of January 01, 2005.
A 1970 Kerala-cadre IAS officer, Chandrasekhar has been revenue secretary in the Finance Ministry and ambassador and permanent representative at the World Trade Organisation.
The World Trade Organisation will hold its first general council meeting in Geneva on October 21, to chalk out a future course of action after the collapse of trade talks in Cancun last month.
Agriculture Minister Rajnath Singh said the failure of developing countries to secure any major concessions from the developed world on agricultural subsidies at the recently-concluded WTO would not have any adverse fallout on the domestic sector.
India's agriculture ministry has identified a list of around 80 special products that should get tariff treatment as part of the World Trade Organisation's current Doha Round negotiations.
Left to distance itself from NDA's 'aggressive' stance in Winter session
China, the world's second largest auto market, will slash import taxes on cars and auto parts from July 1 to comply with Beijing's commitment to the World Trade Organisation.
India on Thursday approved crucial amendments in the WTO agreement on TRIPS permitting governments to break the monopoly of manufacturers of patented drugs by giving 'compulsory licenses' in emergency situations.
A draft circular issued by WTO Committee on Rules Chair and Uruguayan Ambassador Guillermo Valles Galmes states that the process of Zeroing -- used by the US to calculate the dumping margin, which is the difference between the local price in the exporting country and the export price -- could be allowed in certain circumstances.
The fresh World Trade Organization proposals on agriculture for negotiating a global deal to cut tariffs are likely to have India's backing, as they provide protection to the farmers of the developing countries.
The government said in Friday it was negotiating aggressively at the World Trade Organisation to facilitate easy movement of professionals across borders to deliver services.
IMF's Chief Economist Gita Gopinath will leave her job in January next year and return to the prestigious Harvard University, according to the global financial institution.
Does intervention by central banks in the currency markets, with a view to keeping the home currency weak and help the exports, constitute a subsidy? Some US legislators think so.
Articulating developing countries' stand at the World Trade Organisation talks, India on Friday stuck to its position that there could not be any forward movement on industrial tariffs until its concerns on agriculture were addressed.
