In such a situation, they are not able to complete banking -related work, dispatch of goods to buyers and other formalities by 3 pm. Instead of 9 am the government should permit textile markets to work from 11 am to at least 7 pm, so that they can do business properly, he added With COVID-19 cases in Gujarat reducing, thousands of textile traders in Ahmedabad and Surat want the state administration to allow them to open their establishments for a longer period of time as they have again started getting orders from different parts of the country. As per the state government order, commercial establishments, except essential services, can remain open from 9 am to 3 pm. The order came in the wake of a sudden rise in coronavirus cases across the state in April, says Gaurang Bhagat, president of Ahmedabad-based Muskati Market Mahajan Association , adding, “Since the last week of May, the second Covid wave has weakened. Hence, we have requested the state government to allow us to work from 9 am to 7 pm. Many traders have recently got fresh orders after a long time. They are facing difficulties to dispatch goods in time.” Bhagat, who is also chairman of Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s (GCCI’s) trade committee, said generally activities in more than 100 textile markets in Ahmedabad and over 300 markets in Surat starts only after 11 am. In such a situation, they are not able to complete banking -related work, dispatch of goods to buyers and other formalities by 3 pm. Instead of 9 am the government should permit textile markets to work from 11 am to at least 7 pm, so that they can do business properly, he added. “Since past fortnight, traders have been getting orders of grey fabric, especially denim, from exporters based in Mumbai and Noida. If the government would allow them to work for longer hours, traders can fulfill orders in time by following all the Covid-related protocols issued by the authority,” he added. Traders are the only common link among textile manufacturers, processors, exporters and retailers, said Bhagat, adding that if textile traders would start functioning normally, the entire textile value chain would be benefitted and again those who lost their jobs during mini lockdowns would be employed again. Surat-based South Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industries (SGCCI) president Dinesh Navadiya said SGCCI had written a letter to the Gujarat CM to allow textile and diamond industries in Surat and other parts of South Gujarat from 9 am to 7 pm with immediate effect. Due to the second COVID wave during April and May this year already Gujarat based textile traders incurred heavy business losses of more than 10,000 crore. The traders in the country’s two biggest textile hubs Ahmedabad and Surat couldn’t do business during this year’s marriage season, Ramzan and Ugadi festivities, which unfortunately fell during these two months when almost entire country was in the grip of second COVID wave, said Rangnath Sarada, secretary, Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association (FOSSTA). Moreover, schools have been closed since the outbreak of pandemic in the year 202o and as result business of school uniforms has dried up, lamented Sarda adding that now cases are reducing, the authority should support a highly employment oriented textile sector by allowing traders to work for longer hours.
Source: Financial Express
In a meeting with industry associations on June 1, the Minister called for review the preparedness to meet any pandemic challenges, future or present. In a meeting with industry associations on June 1, the Minister called for review the preparedness to meet any pandemic challenges, future or present. Commerce and Industry minister Piyush Goyal has directed industry associations to come up with a checklist to follow in order to deal with a possible third wave of the coronavirus. In a meeting with industry associations on June 1, the Minister called for review the preparedness to meet any pandemic challenges, future or present. Owing to the rising Covid infections in the country, the mininster had said earlier that industrial production was severely aected, as well as the scarcity of oxygen supply and migration of workers. "Goyal called upon the industry associations to prepare a comprehensive checklist that needs to be followed for a possible 3rd COVID wave, covering various measures," a statement issued by the commerce and ministry said. CII, PHD chambers of commerce and industry, along with other representatives, have shared how they have been preparing for a third wave of Covid.
Source: Economic Times
Thakur said reforms undertaken, and strong fundamentals ensured India is witnessing a 'swift' rebound from a contraction of 24.4 per cent in April-June 2020 to a growth of 1.6 per cent Jan-March 2021. Hitting back at former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram over his remarks on mismanagement of economy, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur said the Indian economy is resilient, and will rebound based on reforms that have ensured strong fundamentals. Thakur said reforms undertaken by the government, and strong fundamentals have ensured India is witnessing a “swift” rebound from a contraction of 24.4 per cent in AprilJune 2020 to a growth of 1.6 per cent in the January-March 2021. Former Finance Minister Chidambaram on Tuesday had said, 2020-21 has been the "darkest year" in four decades considering the performance of the economy in the last four quarters, and the government must admit its errors of commission and omission, reverse its policies and heed the advice of economists and the opposition. His remarks came after the government released data pointing out that India’s GDP contracted 7.3 per cent in the pandemic-hit FY21. Thakur in a rebuttal to Chidambaram wrote various international agencies project India to grow by 12.5 per cent in FY22 making it the only major economy to have a projected double digit growth. Thakur also said that other major economies have also seen their growth contract in the pandemic-stricken year, and India has remained resilient despite disruptions globally. Thakur urged former FM Chidambaram to shift gears from his gloom and doomsday prediction, and said that the lockdown imposed last year saved lives, and the gradual unlocking allowed green shoots as indicated by high frequency indicators such as GST collections and auto sales, among others. He wrote that the government’s wheat procurement has been highest ever at 405 lakh metric tonne in the ongoing marketing season, and is 4 per cent higher than the rabi marketing season 2020-21. Paddy procurement had touched a high of 789 lakh metric tonne in kharif marketing season 2020-21. The government has also released the eighth installment of PM-KISAN costing around Rs 19,000 crore, and is a “cash-in-hand” benefit to the farmers. Besides this, the government had also made direct cash transfers to widows, senior citizens, building and construction workers, among others, totaling around Rs 68,000 crore. Thakur wrote that while the UPA led government “disbursed bad loans”, the NDA government, through the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS), is providing Rs 3 trillion government guarantee on loans extended to small businesses, and so far Rs 2.65 trillion has been sanctioned by banks and NBFCs to 92 lakh borrowers.
Source: Times of India
The US government announced Wednesday it is suspending for six months punitive tariffs on Britain, India and four European nations while it works to resolve a dispute over digital services taxes. The decision comes at the conclusion of a year-long investigation into taxes that Washington says discriminated against big US tech companies like Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook. The 25 percent duties were never imposed, but were intended to also target Austria, Italy, Spain and Turkey. While trade authorities ruled the tariffs were justified, "The United States is focused on finding a multilateral solution to a range of key issues related to international taxation, including our concerns with digital services taxes," US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai said in a statement. President Joe Biden's administration is pushing for a 15 percent global minimum corporate tax that aims to resolve the issue of corporations sheltering profits in low-tax nations. The decision comes just ahead of a two-day meeting in London starting Friday of finance ministers from the Group of Seven rich countries to hammer out a deal on the tax issue. Officials then would try to win broader support from the G20 and the 38-member Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) which has led the export to harmonize taxation. However, Ireland, which has become a haven for many multinationals, has expressed opposition to the global minimum tax. G7 leaders will meet later in June, following by a G20 finance ministers meeting in July. USTR made clear it still has the option to impose the punitive duties on goods from the countries that adopted the digital services taxes. "The United States remains committed to reaching a consensus on international tax issues through the OECD and G20 processes," Tai said. "Today's actions provide time for those negotiations to continue to make progress while maintaining the option of imposing taris... if warranted in the future." The so-called Section 301 investigation ruled that the tax "discriminates against US companies, is inconsistent with prevailing principles of international taxation and burden or restricts US commerce." USTR in January also suspended 25 percent tariffs $1.3 billion in French goods imposed in the dispute. In March, USTR terminated investigations of Brazil, the Czech Republic, the European Union and Indonesia, since those governments did not implement a digital services tax.
Source: Economic Times
Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (MSMEs) here have urged the banks to release at the earliest the 10 % assistance announced by the government under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS)……….
Source: The Hindu
The industry chamber proposed four levels of permissible economic activity based on total positivity rate in a district and said a trend of two weeks below the threshold is required to move to a lower risk level, which is equated with higher economic activity. Industry body Ficci has suggested a graded approach to resuming economic activity which balances lives and livelihoods based on Covid-19 positivity rate and categorises activities into manufacturing, services, retail and distribution, and social gatherings. In a letter to commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, it said that high touchpoint non-essential sectors such as leisure activities and retail should be permitted in a minimal risk situation (level 1) or total positivity rate below 2.5%............
Source: Economic Times
Key commodity groups of export showing negative growth in May over the corresponding month in 2019 were leather and leather products (-36%), tea (-29%), garments (-28%) and gems and jewellery (-13%). Merchandise exports jumped over 67% year-on-year in May, aided by a conducive base. However, at $33.2 billion, the exports were almost 8% higher than even the May 2019 (prepandemic) level, showed the preliminary data released by the commerce ministry on Wednesday. With this, exports have exceeded the pre-Covid (same months in 2019) level for three months in a row, suggesting the trade recovery appears to be taking roots despite the second Covid wave. Of course, export growth was low even before the pandemic – outbound shipments rose about 9% in 2018-19 but again shrank by 5% in 2019-20. So only a sustained uptick over the next 2-3 years would help recapture the lost heights. India had set a target to raise its exports (both goods and services) to $900 billion by 2019-20; however, total exports in 2019-20 were just $527 billion. It’s noteworthy that exports had risen by just about 4% in May 2019 from a year before, thus providing a relatively low base for comparison. Still, given the unprecedented Covid crisis and localised lockdowns in some states, the export performance in May 2021 was very encouraging. Imports, too, grew close to 69% to $38.5 billion in May, in sync with improving domestic demand. However, the imports still trailed by over 17% from the May 2019 level. The sharp growth in trade in recent months, albeit supported by favourable base effects (exports were down by 36% and imports by almost 51% in May 2020), also suggests the supply side is able to respond better to a pick-up in demand from key markets. Of course, base effect will continue to aid trade growth in the coming months as well. Thanks to enhanced exports, trade deficit narrowed sharply to $6.3 billion in May from $15.1 billion in the previous month. Importantly, core exports (excluding petroleum and gems and jewellery) climbed up by 46% in May from a year before and nearly 12% from the May 2019 level. These imports rose 41% year-on-year but dropped by 4% from May 2019. Analysts have already said sustenance of high exports (in absolute terms) in the coming months will signal a meaningful turn-around, as they cite the roller-coaster ride of exports in the wake of the pandemic last fiscal. Commerce secretary Anup Wadhawan last month exuded confidence that the current wave of the Covid-19 pandemic was unlikely to alter the export trajectory in the coming months and that the country’s external trade would continue to perform well. The commodities or groups that have recorded high growth in May over the same month in 2019 (pre-pandemic) included select cereals (376%), iron ore (155%), cotton yarn/fabrics/made-ups, handloom products etc. (25%), rice (20%), engineering goods (16%), drugs and pharmaceuticals (11%), marine products (9%), spices (9%), meat, dairy and poultry products (8%) and petroleum products (7%). Key commodity groups of export showing negative growth in May over the corresponding month in 2019 were leather and leather products (-36%), tea (-29%), garments (-28%) and gems and jewellery (-13%). Sharad Kumar Saraf, president of the exporters’ body FIEO, said the impressive export growth suggests order books remain “extremely good”. “…the gradual opening up of major global markets and improvement of situation in the country is expected to push exports growth further. Saraf also stressed that though the government has announced a slew of measures to support exports, the need of the hour is to soon notify the refund rates under the RoDTEP scheme to remove uncertainty, thereby helping exporters forge new contracts with foreigner buyers with ease. Despite logistics and manpower issues caused by the second pandemic wave, engineering goods exports remained robust in May, said EEPC India Chairman Mr Mahesh Desai. “We expect the order book of exporters to remain strong in the current financial year, given the demand trend from key markets such as US, China and Europe.” Mohit Singla, chairman of the Trade Promotion Council of India said, “The fall in the import of pulses, newsprint, transport equipment and Iron & steel is a welcome trend towards self-reliant, as it shows that the government’s import substitution strategy have strongly worked for these sectors.”
Source: Financial Express
While seeking an opinion of the law ministry or the attorney general on the matter, Badal said that bureaucrats in the committee did not have the authority to judge the observations of council members. Punjab finance minister Manpreet Badal has written to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman demanding that the recommendations of the Goods and Services Ta implementation committee (GIC) be approved by the GST Council as the committee did not have powers to make rules. While seeking an opinion of the law ministry or the attorney general on the matter, Badal said that bureaucrats in the committee did not have the authority to judge the observations of council members. “On one hand, we are making decisions of overarching signicance that impact taxpayers by means of subordinate law, on the other hand, refraining from seeking even the approval of the council, as mandated by the charter of the GST laws,” he said. Badal was referring to decisions of the GIC including cancellation of registration, tax compliance amendments and waiver of penalties, which were placed before the GST Council on May 28 only for information of the council rather than approval.
Source: Economic Times
The lockdown is scheduled to end on June 7, and chief minister BS Yediyurappa assessed the latest Covid19 situation at a meeting with senior ministers and officials. They also discussed the Centre's desire to continue with strict control measures till the positivity rate slips below 5%. The State Government on Wednesday allowed 100% export oriented industries to operate with half their sta strength amid thinking in the government of extending the lockdown by another week. The lockdown is scheduled to end on June 7, and chief minister BS Yediyurappa assessed the latest Covid19 situation at a meeting with senior ministers and oicials. They also discussed the Centre's desire to continue with strict control measures till the positivity rate slips below 5%.. Home minister Basavaraj Bommai told reporters at Haveri that the chief minister will take the nal call on lockdown extension on Saturday after his district tour of Belagavi and assessing the pandemic situation in districts. Officials said in Bengaluru that the government is expected to begin relaxations in certain areas to partially allow economic activities in view of Karnataka's precarious financial position. Industry bodies have urged the chief minister to let all of them resume manufacturing activities as the US and Europe have markets fully opened and are booming. The government on Wednesday also asked export oriented units with 1000 plus staers to subject at least 10% of them to Covid-19 tests twice a week.
Source: Economic Times
"This is time to support and spend without giving too much focus on the scal parameters. I am sure, the RBI and the government are constantly working on innovative solutions to keep infusing cash into the system despite understandable revenue pressures," it said. Industry chamber Assocham on Wednesday recommended the government to extend relief measures such as regulatory easing, wage support, and interest subsidy for the MSMEs which are reeling under the severe impact of COVID 19. As the states are in the process of easing lockdowns, the trade and industry would need all-around support to pick up their business thread again, it said It has suggested that the surplus funds of ESIC (Employees State Insurance Corporation) should be used for providing wage support measures/stimulus packages for the employees. "This is time to support and spend without giving too much focus on the fiscal parameters. I am sure, the RBI and the government are constantly working on innovative solutions to keep infusing cash into the system despite understandable revenue pressures," it said. It added that the government and the RBI should 'consider an interest subvention scheme with validity till March 31, 2022, especially, for the micro and small business segment. For providing relief to the worst-hit hospitality sector, the chamber suggested allowing GST Input Credit for restaurants. "For giving a much-needed boost to the realty sector, it has recommended reduction in stamp duty as also property tax by half at least for three years," it said.
Source: Economic Times
The government recently allowed companies to categorise certain Covid related expenditure as CSR. These include creating health infrastructure for Covid care, manufacturing or supplying of O2 concentrators, ventilators, cylinders or any other medical equipment that’s primarily used for countering the pandemic. Companies increasing their corporate social responsibility (CSR) spend during the second wave of the Covid pandemic are set to face goods and services tax (GST) complications around input tax credits on cost incurred or goods purchased and supplied free of cost under CSR. The government recently allowed companies to categorise certain Covid.
Source: Economic Times
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Canada recently reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation under their new Plan of Action 2021-2025 in areas of mutual interest at the 9th ASEAN-Canada Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) Meeting via videoconference. Both sides looked forward to further discussion on a possible ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The proposed FTA is also one of the key deliverables of Brunei Darussalam’s chairmanship of ASEAN this year. The pursuit of such an FTA was initiated three years ago but has so far harvested no results. The meeting agreed to deepen collaboration in trade and investment; micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) development; public health; innovation including entrepreneurship and start-ups; digital economy; education; gender equality; women, peace and security; and connectivity. Meanwhile, Cambodia is collecting inputs from stakeholders on a wide spectrum of issues, including environmental concerns, to be incorporated in a draft framework document for negotiations on the ASEAN-Canada FTA. Canada is a major buyer of Cambodian bicycles, as well as apparel and other finished textile products. Trade between the two countries was worth a total of $800.40 million last year, down by 16.44 per cent compared to 2019, the commerce ministry reported. Cambodia exported $745.04 million worth of merchandise in 2020, declining by 10.95 per cent, and imported $55.36 million, down by 54.31 per cent. In August 2016, at the ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM)-Canada Consultations (Vientiane, Lao PDR), ASEAN and Canada's economic ministers agreed to jointly develop a feasibility study to explore the potential for a Canada-ASEAN FTA. The in-depth study was jointly conducted by the Global Affairs Canada Office of the Chief Economist and the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), on behalf of ASEAN. The study demonstrated that a comprehensive agreement, one which moves beyond simple tariff elimination and includes services and investment liberalization, a reduction in non-tariff measures (NTMs), and improvements to trade facilitation, is in the best interest of both Canada and ASEAN member states. The analysis conducted by ASEAN showed that the impact of an FTA, which includes goods liberalisation, a reduction of NTMs and improvements to trade facilitation, would increase ASEAN's GDP by $39.4 billion (1.6 per cent) and Canada's GDP by $5.1 billion (0.3 per cent). Likewise, such an agreement would increase ASEAN's exports to Canada by $3.36 billion (18.7 per cent) and Canadian exports to ASEAN by $3.18 billion (26.5 per cent). “Many agriculture stakeholders also suggested that Canada’s long-term goal should be to encourage ASEAN members to join the CPTPP,” it added.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
President Joe Biden last week proposed a $6-trillion budget to ‘reimagine’ the US economy and avert Chinese competition. A key component of the plan is to revitalise manufacturing, secure US supply chains, invest in research and development (R&D) and train Americans for the jobs of the future. Biden said a post-pandemic United States "cannot afford to simply return to the way things were before." "We must seize the moment to reimagine and rebuild a new American economy," he said. The plan will ensure the best, diverse minds in the country are put to work creating the innovations of the future while creating hundreds of thousands of quality jobs today. As part of the blueprint, the government is expected to unleash $6.011 trillion in 2022, with increases gradually rising to $8.2 trillion in 2031. A huge chunk would be an infrastructure bill originally proposed at $2.3 trillion but since whittled down to $1.7 trillion in negotiations with Congress. Another $1.8 trillion would go on increased statefunded education and social services. The overall aim, Biden said, is to grow the US middle class, while positioning "the United States to out-compete our rivals." The plan includes fixing highways, rebuilding bridges, upgrading ports, airports and transit systems. Ten most economically-significant bridges that need reconstruction will be fixed. Ten thousand smaller bridges, offering critical linkages, will also be repaired. The proposals also includes building, preserving and retrofitting over 2 million homes and commercial buildings, modernizing schools and child care facilities, and upgrading veterans’ hospitals and federal buildings.
Source: Fibre2 Fashion
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that it has disbursed over N44 billion ($107 million) to over 200,000 cotton farmers and the textile supply chain since 2019 to revamp the industry. This has led to the creation of 620,000 direct and indirect jobs in the sector over the last two years. The bank has also been monitoring the progress of the industry. A meeting was recently held between the bank and the stakeholders to discuss how to revamp the industry and ensure sustainable growth, according to Nigerian media reports. Godwin Emefiele, governor of the CBN, who was represented by his deputy in charge of corporate services, Edward Adamu, said that the bank is committed to revamping the cotton, garment and textile sector of the country. He added that the textile industry of Nigeria is capable of an average output between 150,000 and 300,000 metric tonnes with a ginning capacity of 497,000 metric tonnes at 51 per cent capacity utilisation from 19 per cent. The textile sector of the country has a huge potential for creating thousands of jobs, supporting production and using local goods to save billions in foreign exchange, Emefiele added. He added that their intention is to increase the capacity of the sector by 70 per cent by the 2021 wet season. The CBN is also looking to close the seed cotton gap of 450,000 metric tonnes by 2022 and collaborate with private stakeholders to improve the quality of the seeds to increase the yield. The cotton cultivation in the country went from 50,000 metric tonnes in 2018 to 120,000 metric tonnes in 2019 after CBN’s intervention. In the last two years, the bank has financed four textile companies, three garment makers and 19 ginneries, increasing the number of ginneries from 13 in 2019 to 21 as of June 2021. CBN is working with ginneries to backward integrate and cultivate an average of 43,100 hectares for an estimated output of 86,200 metric tonnes, said CBN director, development finance, Philip Yila-Yusuf.
Source: Fibre2 Fashion
Vietnam raked in over 12.2 billion U.S. dollars from exporting textile and garment between January and May, up 15 percent against the same period last year, according to the country's General Statistics Office on Thursday. In May alone, Vietnam's textile and garment exports rose 35.1 percent year on year to around 2.6 billion U.S. dollars. Over the five-month period, markets including the United States, the European Union and Japan were still key importers of Vietnam's textile and garment. However, higher prices of input materials are lowering the profit earned by local firms from exporting textile and garment, said the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association. In 2020, Vietnam recorded an export turnover of 29.5 billion U.S. dollars from textile and garment products, down 10.2 percent from 2019, according to the General Statistic Office.
Source: Xinhua
