‘New Government should speed up India-EU free trade negotiation’
SME Times, 21 April 2014
The new Indian government should expedite negotiations on the Indo-European Union (IEU) free trade agreement (FTA), says German Ambassador to India Michael Steiner. “I hope the negotiation will restart soon after the new government assumes office as the FTA is a win-win situation for all,” Steiner said in New Delhi. The FTA covers a wide variety of areas such as insurance and automobiles to spirits and wines. More…
India’s Growing Trade Deficit with China : What can be done? – An Analysis
Eurasia Review, 21 April 2014
Where politics disappoints, economics gives a hope. The Sino-Indian ties are emblematic of this proposition. Once bitter neighbours, India and China have for years been trying to integrate economic ties to help resolve their territorial dispute, and trade between the two countries has steered bilateral relations for the last decade. More…
Patent rights meet on US concerns
Business Standard, 19 April 2014
Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth will on Monday meet officials from various ministries to discuss concerns raised by the US on India’s management of intellectual property rights (IPRs), it is learnt. The meeting comes just ahead of the release of the US Trade Representative’s (USTR’s) Special 301 report in May. More…
US-India relations: Business that goes beyond the roadblocks
The Economic Times, 16 April 2014
The Devyani Khobragade row led to a series of spats with the US, including aprobe into India’s trade policies, the US downgrading India’s aviation safety, protests over the safety of Indian generic drugs and so on. US-India relations are passing through a challenging phase, but we should not lose sight of the big picture. We will soon have a new political dispensation in New Delhi and mid-term elections in America later in the year. More…
Why India is the best of the BRICS
NASDAQ, 15 April 2014
In the editorial section of The Wall Street Journal, Ruchir Sharma opined about the state of emerging markets; Sharma is head of emerging markets for Morgan Stanley. The most important aspect of his editorial — The Emerging Market Comedown — was not what he said; it was what he did not say. Nowhere in the entire editorial did he mention India; not once. He talks about all of the other constituents of the BRICS falling apart, but never mentions India. More…
India-Asean services FTA in limbo over retail FDI
Business Standard, 15 April 2014
India’s free trade agreement (FTA) on services with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is still in limbo, as three members – Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines – are yet to ratify the deal. While Thailand and Indonesia are demanding unconditional access to India’s multi-brand retail trading segment, the Philippines appears to be scared of India’s information technology (IT) sector. More…
India, Russia to share data on diamond trade
The Times of India, 10 April, 2014
India, the world’s largest diamond-processing nation and Russia, the world’s largest rough diamond producer, have taken a significant step towards greater direct diamond trade between the two countries. India’s Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) and state-owned Russian diamond mining firm Alrosa signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to share trade and statistical data on the diamond trade between the two countries. More…
IT, petrochemicals, healthcare to spur India-GCC trade
Business Standard, 08 April, 2014
Gulf Cooperation Council is expected to attract $57 billion into petrochemical industry over the next five years. With the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries firming up projects worth $450 billion in 2014, Indian investors have huge opportunities for investment in knowledge and skill based services, particularly in IT field. More…
Grant of NDMA to India by Pak will boost bilateral trade: FIEO
Business Standard, 02 April, 2014
Granting of non-discriminatory market access (NDMA) to India by Pakistan will help in boosting trade and economic ties between the two countries, apex exporters body FIEO said today. Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Rafeeq Ahmed also said that governments of both the countries should open more points of trade through land route. More…
Indian food industry poses trade barriers: USTR
Business Standard, 01 April, 2014
“Since 2003, India has imposed unwarranted SPS requirements on US dairy imports, which have precluded US access to India’s dairy market, one of the largest in the world. India has insisted on onerous certification requirements and refused to accept US food safety and animal health standards as effective,” the USTR said in its annual report on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Barriers to Trade. More…