March 2014

Trade scrutiny

The Business Line, 28 March 2014
India has a strong case on IPR, but not on export subsidies. India’s agricultural trade and intellectual property rights (IPR)-related policies have come under the international spotlight in recent months. Brazil, Australia and the European Union have questioned the country’s decision in February to grant a subsidy of Rs 3,333 per tonne on raw sugar shipments. More…

Improving logistics – a key to trade prosperity

Business Recorder, Pakistan, 25 March, 2014
Improving trade performance to kick start economic growth has been one of the key agenda of the current government. Leading policymakers, academia and government officials alike are envisaging the country to become a trade corridor and its connectivity with the world as the game changers. More…

India seeks more Chinese investment to bridge trade deficit

The Times of India, 24 March 2014
India on Monday sought to increase Chinese investments into the country, especially from China’s largest business hub Shanghai, to bridge the ballooning $35 billion trade deficit. During a meeting with Shanghai mayor Yang Xiong, Indian ambassador to China Ashok K Kantha highlighted the potential for expanding and diversifying trade and economic cooperation between the two neighbours. More…

Pakistan to strike trade deal with new govt in India: Pervaiz Rashid

The Economic Times, 22 March 2014
Pakistan today said it will strike a liberalized trade deal with India only after a new government takes over following the Lok Sabha elections. The PML-N government here has put off a cabinet meeting scheduled for today that would have discussed among other things the long-pending NDMA (non-discriminatory market access) status to India to boost bilateral trade ties. More…

Why free trade agreements are ever more vital for India

Business Standard, 22 March 2014
The direction of global trade is set to change as mega agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) come into force. The TPP includes 12 of the Pacific Rim countries including the US and Australia, whereas TTIP is between the US and the European Union. Respectively, they represent around 39 per cent and 60 per cent of the world GDP. More…

India trade: Parliament to hold debate only after cabinet’s nod

The Express Tribune, 20 March, 2014
The federal government has decided to hold a debate on Pak-India trade liberalisation in parliament only after the cabinet gives approval and India dismantles barriers, a move aimed at avoiding wider public attention and the criticism it could provoke. A policy statement on trade liberalisation with India could not be given in parliament unless something concrete came out to share with the parliamentarians, said a senior official of the Ministry of Commerce in background interaction with the media. More…

Indian envoy seeks to boost trade with UAE via free zone

The Financial Express, 19 March, 2014
India’s newly appointed Ambassador to the UAE has sought to further strengthen bilateral trade relations with the Gulf country’s Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), a trade and logistics hub for the entire Middle East region. T P Seetharam recently led an 18-member high-level delegation to Jafza comprising top executives of leading Indian companies working in the free zone for over 20 years. He highlighted India’s economic, trade and cultural links with the UAE in general and Dubai in particular which dates back to more than a century ago. More…

How India’s National Elections Work

The Diplomat, 19 March, 2014
As the world’s largest democracy gears up to head to the polls starting next month, it’s worth taking a step back and appreciating both the logistical and institutional aspects of what keeps Indian democracy ticking. Fellow Pulse columnist Ram Mashru took a look at the record-breaking nature of India’s elections earlier, noting that India’s upcoming election will be the “largest democratic event in history, with more than 814 million people entitled to vote”. More…

India plans to finance expansion of trade and investment in Africa

Out-Law.com, 13 March, 2014
The Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of India plans to boost investment in Africa by encouraging more companies to use lines of credit to fund “transformational change”, the head of the bank has said. Bank chairman and managing director, Yaduvendra Mathur, told this week’s 10th India-Africa project partnership ‘conclave’ between the bank and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) that representatives are being sent to several African nations where there is an “under-utilisation” of financial support on offer. More…

India, Australia trade relations can improve further’

The Economic Times, 13 March, 2014
Trade relations between India and Australia have been growing steadily and with the “right mindsets” they can be enhanced further, Australian High Commissioner in India, Patrick Suckling has said. On the agreement of Uranium exports to India from Australia, he said the two countries were working on it and there has been “good progress”. More…

US seeks ‘talk and trade’ to rebuild India ties

Reuters, 07 March, 2014
The United States sought on Thursday to rebuild rocky ties with India, while stressing it would tackle differences “head on” in pursuit of its drive to quintuple bilateral trade in a decade. Rows over drug patents, solar panels and software piracy have blighted relations of late, amid heated exchanges over the arrest and strip search in New York last December of an Indian diplomat who was suspected of visa fraud. More…

Indian PM Addresses BIMSTEC Summit, Pushes Free Trade

The Diplomat, 08 March, 2014
In what is likely to be his last major multilateral event as Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh attended a meeting of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) in Napyidaw, Myanmar. BIMSTEC is a fairly young regional institution that gets lost in the space between SAARC and ASEAN, but the latest summit added some much-needed energy to its development. BIMSTEC is comprised of India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Bhutan and Nepal. More…

China Becomes India’s Largest Trading Partner

India Briefing, 05 March, 2014
Bilateral trade between India and China has climbed to almost US$50 billion during the first nine months of the current fiscal year, higher than trade with any of India’s other trading partners, according to a study. More…

Bid to boost bilateral trade with India

The Financial Express, 04 March, 2014
A high-level inter-ministerial meeting on Tuesday undertook a number of decisions to improve connectivity further in a bid to boost the country’s bilateral trade with India, especially Bangladesh’s export volume to the neighbouring country. More…

Special, strategic relationship: India is an essential partner in America’s broader engagement with Asia

The Times of India, 04 March, 2014
Interacting with local Industry members on bilateral trade relations in New Delhi on Thursday, Czech Republic envoy to India Miloslav Stasek says there is a lot of scope for trade and investment in his home country. More…

India, UAE agree to bolster bilateral trade, continue strategic dialogue

NetIndian News Network, 03 March, 2014
India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) today agreed on several steps to strengthen bilateral trade and pave the way for continued strategic dialogue between them. More…

Czech diplomat woos Indian companies

Business Standard, 01 March, 2014
Interacting with local Industry members on bilateral trade relations in New Delhi on Thursday, Czech Republic envoy to India Miloslav Stasek says there is a lot of scope for trade and investment in his home country. More…

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince meets Manmohan Singh

Business Standard, 01 March, 2014
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday in order to bolster business and bilateral defence ties. More…