India’s textiles sector has been unable to increase its share in global T&A exports due to structural disabilities majorly impeding its growth. Over the years, global exports in Textiles & Apparels (T&A) have increased from around $768 billion in 2015 to around $818 billion in 2019. In 2019, China ranks highest as the world’s top exporter of T&A with a share of around 32 percent in total world exports of T&A followed by Bangladesh (5.25 percent), Vietnam (4.82 percent), Germany (4.67 percent), Italy (4.4 percent) and India (4.34 percent), etc. Globally, while China remains the most dominant player by a wide margin in both textiles and apparels, India has been beaten by both Vietnam and Bangladesh in recent years in apparel exports. It is interesting to note that economies such as Bangladesh and Vietnam have been able to increase their share in global T&A exports. In the case of Bangladesh, the share in global exports of T&A has increased at a CAGR of 10.95 percent from 3.69 percent in 2015 to 5.25 percent in 2019. While for Vietnam, the share in global exports of T&A has increased at a CAGR of 9.66 percent from 3.55 percent to 4.82 percent during the same period. On the other hand, India ranks 6th in the top 10 world exporters of T&A and has witnessed a decline in its share in global exports of T&A from 4.84 percent in 2015 to 4.34 percent in 2018 at a CAGR of (–) 1.14 percent (Trade Map, 2019). Also, the share of the textiles sector in India’s overall merchandise exports has been sliding consistently in recent years, having dropped from as much as 13.7 percent in FY2016 to just 10.8 percent in FY2020. Moreover, India’s textiles sector has been unable to increase its share in global T&A exports due to structural disabilities majorly impeding its growth. The sector presently is plagued with a lack of scale in manufacturing, a low level of investments, slowstagnant export growth, lack of focus on R&D, credit availability, market accessibility, inadequate infrastructure facilities, etc. Furthermore, fibre orientation in India is skewed towards cotton while global sourcing is Man-Made Fibre (MMF) based. Therefore, while the world is moving towards MMF based apparels in overall exports (~50 percent), India’s share of the same is very low around 20 percent. Currently, MMF dominates global textile fibre consumption with 72:28 ratio— MMF 72 percent and natural fibre 28 percent, whereas domestic fibre consumption ratio in India at present is 40:60 —MMF 40 percent and natural fibre 60 percent. In a bid to boost local manufacturing and exports and shore up job creation, the Government has announced the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for the sector with budgetary support of Rs 10,683 crores over a period of five years. The Focus Product Incentive Scheme (FPIS) under the ambit of the PLI Scheme is currently under process by the Government and would provide financial incentives to both greenfield and brownfield investments As per various reports, it is expected that the scheme may cover approximately the top 40 product categories under MMF and 10 in the technical textiles segment, where India’s share in exports of such products is extremely low in the international market. It has been observed that world exports in the top 40 traded MMF apparel lines (where India’s share in global exports is less than 5 percent in each line) stand at $133.90 billion in 2019. India’s total share in global export of these top 40 traded lines stands at less than 1 percent as compared to a significant share of 40 percent of China followed by Vietnam (10 percent), Bangladesh (6 percent) and Germany (5 percent). Also, the global market for technical textiles is expected to grow from $176.83 billion in 2018 and reach $220.37 billion by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 5.89 percent. However, it has been estimated that the consumption of technical textiles in India is still only at 5-10 percent against 30-70 percent in some of the advanced economies. In 2019, world exports in the top 10 traded technical textile lines stood at $81.39 billion wherein India’s total share constituted a mere 0.85 percent as compared to a whopping high of 21 percent of China followed by Germany (9 percent), the USA (9 percent) and Japan (5 percent). Even for Vietnam, the share in global exports for the top 10 traded lines comes at around 2 percent. It remains to be seen which products along with the eligibility criteria would get notified in the final scheme by the Government to achieve substantial growth for the textiles sector. At this juncture, the FPI scheme is expected to bring structural changes in the textiles sector which is still largely cotton driven by shifting gears towards MMF and technical textiles. The scheme would aid in taking forward the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Mission and promote greater MMF based textile exports as the MMF garment industry in India is poised for fast growth in the coming times on the back of ease of doing business reforms and rising investor sentiment. Also, since the conventional Indian textiles sector may have reached a level of saturation in terms of value-addition, innovation and overall development, the technical textiles segment offers a great opportunity for further upgrading the Indian textile sector and making it globally competitive. In a nutshell, this is a much-needed scheme for India’s textiles and apparel export industry, which has lost out to its Asian peers over the past few years, to regain its position in global textiles trade in the coming times. —The authors, Dr Shilpy Verma is PhD in Economics from the Centre for International Trade and Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Presently, she is working with the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India as a Young Professional; Bhawna Kakkar is a postgraduate in Economics. Presently, she is working as a Young Professional in the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India.
Source: CNBCTV18
As export volumes across various sectors declined in the pandemic year, only 62.11% of the export credit targets were met in the pandemic year. The export credit in 2020-21 stood at Rs 1,036 crore against a target of Rs 1,668 crore laid out in the service area credit plan (SACP) according to the latest report by state level bankers’ committee (SLBC). M M Bansal, convener, SLBC – Gujarat, said, “Only 62% of the export credit target was met in the pandemic year. Exports took a major hit across all the sectors. Since shipping companies were shut through the lockdown and industrial units barely operational, exports were near-zero in the first quarter. As a consequence, export credit went down.” Since lockdown continued across other countries as well, demand took a major hit. As a consequence, companies suffered several order cancellations as well due to which exports went down. Interestingly, barely 5% of the targeted accounts under SACP 2020-21 have sought credit, according to the SLBC report. Bankers said that export credit has gone down as exports across major sectors took long to recover in the subsequent quarters. Chintan Thaker, chairman, Assocham – Gujarat state council, said, “Exports are impacted in sectors such as textiles, apparels, garments, automobile, engineering goods and ceramics, among others. As demand slowed, exports declined. Even as lockdown eased, the recovery in exports did not take place until the fourth quarter and one cannot expect demand of a single quarter to drive exports. As a consequence, export credit took a hit.
Source: Times of India
The Government has granted further extension of timelines of compliances under Income Tax Act. It has also announced tax exemption for expenditure on COVID-19 treatment and ex-gratia received on death due to COVID-19. The details are as follows:
A. Tax exemption
I. Many taxpayers have received financial help from their employers and wellwishers for meeting their expenses incurred for treatment of Covid-19. In order to ensure that no income tax liability arises on this account, it has been decided to provide income-tax exemption to the amount received by a taxpayer for medical treatment from employer or from any person for treatment of Covid-19 during FY 2019-20 and subsequent years.
II. Unfortunately, certain taxpayers have lost their life due to Covid-19. Employers and well-wishers of such taxpayers had extended financial assistance to their family members so that they could cope with the difficulties arisen due to the sudden loss of the earning member of their family. In order to provide relief to the family members of such taxpayer, it has been decided to provide income-tax exemption to ex-gratia payment received by family members of a person from the employer of such person or from other person on the death of the person on account of Covid-19 during FY 2019-20 and subsequent years. The exemption shall be allowed without any limit for the amount received from the employer and the exemption shall be limited to Rs. 10 lakh in aggregate for the amount received from any other persons. Necessary legislative amendments for the above decisions shall be proposed in due course of time.
B. Extension of Timelines
In view of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, taxpayers are facing inconvenience in meeting certain tax compliances and also in filing response to various notices. In order to ease compliances to be made by taxpayers during this difficult time, reliefs are being provided through Notifications nos. 74/2021 & 75/2021 dated 25th June, 2021 Circular no. 12/2021 dated 25th June, 2021. These reliefs are:
1. Objections to Dispute Resolution Panel (DRP) and Assessing Officer under section 144C of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) for which the last date of filing under that section is 1 st June, 2021 or thereafter, may be filed within the time provided in that section or by 31st August, 2021, whichever is later.
2. The Statement of Deduction of Tax for the last quarter of the Financial Year 2020-21, required to be furnished on or before 31st May, 2021 under Rule 31A of the Income-tax Rules,1962 (hereinafter referred to as “the Rules”), as extended to 30th June, 2021 vide Circular No.9 of 2021, may be furnished on or before 15th July, 2021.
3. The Certificate of Tax Deducted at Source in Form No.16, required to be furnished to the employee by 15th June, 2021 under Rule 31 of the Rules, as extended to 15th July, 2021 vide Circular No.9 of 2021, may be furnished on or before 31st July, 2021.
4. The Statement of Income paid or credited by an investment fund to its unit holder in Form No. 64D for the Previous Year 2020-21, required to be furnished on or before 15th June, 2021 under Rule 12CB of the Rules, as extended to 30th June, 2021 vide Circular No.9 of 2021, may be furnished on or before 15th July, 2021.
5. The Statement of Income paid or credited by an investment fund to its unit holder in Form No. 64C for the Previous Year 2020-21, required to be furnished on or before 30th June, 2021 under Rule 12CB of the Rules, as extended to 15th July, 2021 vide Circular No.9 of 2021, may be furnished on or before 31st July, 2021.
6. The application under Section 10(23C), 12AB, 35(1)(ii)/(iia)/(iii) and 80G of the Act in Form No. 10A/ Form No.10AB, for registration/ provisional registration/ intimation/ approval/ provisional approval of Trusts/ Institutions/ Research Associations etc., required to be made on or before 30th June, 2021, may be made on or before 31st August, 2021.
7. The compliances to be made by the taxpayers such as investment, deposit, payment, acquisition, purchase, construction or such other action, by whatever name called, for the purpose of claiming any exemption under the provisions contained in Section 54 to 54GB of the Act, for which the last date of such compliance falls between 1st April, 2021 to 29th September, 2021 (both days inclusive), may be completed on or before 30th September, 2021.
8. The Quarterly Statement in Form No. 15CC to be furnished by authorized dealer in respect of remittances made for the quarter ending on 30th June, 2021, required to be furnished on or before 15th July, 2021 under Rule 37 BB of the Rules, may be furnished on or before 31st July, 2021.
9. The Equalization Levy Statement in Form No. 1 for the Financial Year 2020-21, which is required to be filed on or before 30th June, 2021, may be furnished on or before 31st July, 2021.
10. The Annual Statement required to be furnished under sub-section (5) of section 9A of the Act by the eligible investment fund in Form No. 3CEK for the Financial Year 2020-21, which is required to be filed on or before 29th June, 2021, may be furnished on or before 31st July, 2021.
11. Uploading of the declarations received from recipients in Form No. 15G/15H during the quarter ending 30th June, 2021, which is required to be uploaded on or before 15th July, 2021, may be uploaded by 31st August,2021.
12. Exercising of option to withdraw pending application (filed before the erstwhile Income Tax Settlement Commission) under sub-section (1) of Section 245M of the Act in Form No. 34BB, which is required to be exercised on or before 27th June, 2021, may be exercised on or before 31st July, 2021.
13. Last date of linkage of Aadhaar with PAN under section 139AA of the Act, which was earlier extended to 30th June, 2021 is further extended to 30th September, 2021.
14. Last date of payment of amount under Vivad se Vishwas(without additional amount) which was earlier extended to 30th June, 2021 is further extended to 31st August, 2021.
15. Last date of payment of amount under Vivad se Vishwas (with additional amount) has been notified as 31st October, 2021.
16. Time Limit for passing assessment order which was earlier extended to 30th June, 2021 is further extended to 30th September, 2021.
17. Time Limit for passing penalty order which was earlier extended to 30th June, 2021 is further extended to 30th September, 2021.
18. Time Limit for processing Equalisation Levy returns which was earlier extended to 30th June, 2021 is further extended to 30th September, 2021.
Source: PIB
After Covid, countries are reluctant to import edible products from China and India can take its place. It is a good opportunity for India, but we still have a long way to go. The second Covid wave has left the economy in tatters. Amid all the gloomy news, the country’s exports seem to have done well. But are we out of the woods yet? To understand where the country stands in global trade, ET Digital spoke to Ajay Sahai, Director General & CEO of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO). Edited excerpts of the interview:
ET Digital (ET): The exports numbers have been looking good for the pastthree months. How is the future looking, according to you? Ajay Sahai (AS): At the moment, the growth is looking spectacular. But it is on a very low base. We have to keep in mind that we were under lockdown because of the second wave of Covid from the second half of March to May this year. Therefore, these figures might look very impressive, but it is best not to draw conclusions from that. According to the data available with the government in May, India’s exports reached $50.7 billion during the first seven weeks of the fiscal year, 11% higher than the corresponding period in 2019- 20. A double-digit growth at this point is a good sign for Indian exports, considering that some states are still in the lockdown mode. We have done remarkably well in some labourintensive sectors. Compared with 2019, the export figures China’s exports in this category have taken an enormous hit. After Covid, countries are reluctant to import edible products from China. India can take its place. It is a good opportunity, but we still have a long way to go. There will be competition from other countries, but if we focus on the processed food sector, we can make a difference. The PLI (production-linked incentive) scheme for this sector has helped India in a huge way. We are wasting around 30% of fruits and vegetables. This can change if we bring proper technology into this sector through FDI (foreign direct investment). The added advantage is that you get a new market to sell your products. So, it's a win-win situation for both the countries. I'm very bullish about the PLI scheme in the food processing sector.
ET: Commodity prices are soaring. What effect is it having on Indian exports? AS: The soaring prices have resulted in around 10% growth in exports. We have done particularly well in exports of iron and steel, copper and various other metals. The same goes for cereals as well. But it's a very delicate situation. On the one hand, we see exports booming, on the other, it creates problems for the downstream processor because high steel prices have hit the engineering sector. We should have a strategy where we can focus on value-added exports and attract investment. A medium- to long-term process is required here. As an immediate step, we need to look into what we can do to encourage raw material exporters to supply to the nonvalue added exporters. There are many cases where the same product is being exported and imported to and from India by different units. In this process, we are not only putting pressure on the logistics sector, which is facing its own challenges, but we are unnecessarily spending foreign exchange in freight, both ways. A change in the policy will help us address that. I take little satisfaction from the export of raw material scenario at present. I understand that exporting raw material is needed, otherwise it will suppress prices in the domestic market, but if we go overboard, then it will create a problem. A competitor in another country can get the raw material and if they have economies of scale, they can produce the final product at a much more competitive price and then beat us in the third market.
ET: How does the order-book situation look at the moment for India? AS: The order book position is very good. We were apprehensive because there have been several delays in rolling out some government schemes, including the RoDTEP (Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products) scheme, which would affect exports in a big way. But most MSMEs are flush with orders. That has helped us to offset the disadvantage of the uncertainty of this scheme. The problem is not of the order, but twofold in nature. One is on the supply side where there are logistical challenges and then we have a problem where profitability is at a record low. SMEs are getting good of the apparel industry. If they are exporting at a very narrow margin, they will look at the domestic market once the lockdowns are removed and sales go up.
ET: What is squeezing the margins? Is it competition? AS: There has been an abnormal increase in the prices of raw material; that does not match a corresponding increase in the prices of finished products. If my raw material prices have gone up 15%, and finished product prices have risen by 5- 7%, then there is more pressure on profitability. I am hopeful things will look up by early 2022. One of the positive points is that if people are looking for an alternative to China, then India is a natural choice. That's why many countries are focusing on us.
ET: Trade is also suffering due to rising shipping costs and a shortage of containers. Wha tis your take on this matter? AS: Freight costs have really gone up but that is a global phenomenon. Shipping lines are bringing more containers to India from the Middle East and other parts of the world to help ease the pressure. The Indian Railways have also provided free movement of containers from gateway ports to the interiors and to the ICDs (inland container depots). The situation is much better now than five months ago. But challenges exist. If India concentrates on Atmanirbhar Bharat, we will compress imports and boost exports. In such a scenario, there may be a container shortage. To bridge the gap, we need to build containers, and the good thing is that many public sector undertakings and some private companies have already entered this field. The government is looking at developing Bhavnagar as a cluster for container manufacturing. We need to look into the bigger issue of shipping lines. India doesn’t have one of global repute. We had (SCI), which is now being disinvested. If some large players enter the field, it will benefit the Indian economy to a large extent. We're spending around $65 billion a year as remittance on account of freight. If we are looking to increase our exports to $1 trillion a year, then this can go up to $100 billion. If we have a shipping line that captures even 25% of the total market, then a $25 billion market will be available to us. So that should be our focus when we are disinvesting SCI. We should get a large player and the best technology when we are doing disinvestment so that we can take on the world, and ensure that the market available in India helps us through in the initial phases.
ET: India and the UK recently pledged a quantum leap in trade. How will this help us? AS: We have to first look at the UK’s agreement with the EU. According to that deal, the UK will continue to have free movement of goods with no tariff. For services, the same agreement is not applicable to immigration. So I'm looking at greater opportunities in the services sector. If we enter into an agreement with the UK, we will have a level playing field with the EU. For goods, the EU has a favourable playing field. The UK is extremely important for India as far as some of the traditional export sectors are concerned. India heavily depends on the UK for export of apparel, footwear, handicrafts and carpets. We need to work out a free trade agreement that will help our labour-intensive sectors. We also see that the exports of machinery, electrical and electronic components and pharma are improving. So when we compete with the EU on different platforms, with the agreement, there will be an advantage for us. With a free trade agreement, we can get facilitation. With the UK, India has the advantage of having a British English-speaking population and also being a part of the Commonwealth. So the UK will attract a lot of services sector talent from India. In IT and other sectors, the UK is opening immigration for professionals. We need to look into the investment prospects too. Despite the pandemic, India has got a good growth rate. Total FDI, including equity, reinvested earnings and capital, rose 10 per cent to $81.72 billion during 2020-21 as against $74.39 billion in 2019-20. Our Sensex has crossed 51,000, and that is why the India growth story is intact. If we provide facilitation to investors from the UK, a lot of companies will be ready to invest.
ET: How do you see our negotiations with the EU panning out? AS: We started the negotiation with the EU in 2007, which came to a standstill in 2014. But things are looking up again. What is good is that this time the talks are happening on goods, services and investments simultaneously. The EU is our second largest trading partner so far as goods and services are concerned. We have around $80 billion of goods trade with the EU and around $38 billion in services. They are next to the US when it comes to bilateral trade. When looking at the EU, we have to keep another aspect in mind. Vietnam has emerged as a huge competitor to India in textiles, footwear, furniture, electronics products and agricultural products. Vietnam has also worked out a free trade agreement with the EU. We need to have an agreement with the EU, otherwise we will concede more grounds to such countries. A lot of investment from China has gone into Vietnam. So, when we are talking about the free trade agreement with them, let us also look into the companies that have moved from China to Vietnam. If we work out an agreement with the EU, it will give a level playing field for Indian exporters. We also depend on the EU for technology, sophisticated goods, pharmaceuticals and diagnostics equipment. Now it is a two-way process as we have become the vaccination capital of the world and are supplying a lot of vaccines in the last one year. This has gained us goodwill from the entire world. An FTA with the EU will work for both parties.
ET: Many believe that India is working on much of the bilateral trade relations with the EU, the US and Australia to offset the loss of opting out of the RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership). The trade between western nations and India has to mature. What is your take on this? AS: Not joining the RCEP was a conscious call taken by the country looking into national interests. But we are working on a strategic relationship which can be cemented for economic activities with the US, Japan, Australia, on the one side, and many other countries, on the other side. We need to look into what extent we can now leverage the anti-China sentiment. We can look at changing the entire gamut of trade. The productionlinked incentives the government has provided to 13 sectors can definitely be a game changer. Although, it is too early to say the electronics sector has made a difference. Even without the PLI, when we brought mobile manufacturing to India, we could reduce our bill by around $25 billion. We can make a production base in India, which will not only cater to our market by suppressing imports but also provide a market for exports. Today, Indian mobile companies are exporting to the Middle East, Europe and North America. Competition will intensify in the future. At this point, everything is looking good. I am looking at a healthy growth of over 20%. If there is no third Covid wave, we will be able to achieve it.
Source: Economic Times
The Centre’s fiscal deficit spiked to as high as 9.3% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in FY21, as revenue collections crawled while the need for spending to soften the Covid blows grew. In the current fiscal, the Centre is targeting to reduce the deficit to 6.8%. Continuous reforms make India a great place to do business in, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman asserted, as she called on American investors to cash in on new opportunities arising out of New Delhi’s recent FDI reforms, the rollout of performance-linked incentive (PLI) schemes and the privatisation policy. Despite the damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, India’s fiscal situation is under control and expected to improve further, the minister said. She was addressing a virtual global investors roundtable, organised by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) late on Thursday. The Centre’s fiscal deficit spiked to as high as 9.3% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in FY21, as revenue collections crawled while the need for spending to soften the Covid blows grew. In the current fiscal, the Centre is targeting to reduce the deficit to 6.8%. The virtual roundtable is the latest in a series of meetings held by finance minister to draw large-scale foreign investments, especially in infrastructure, to bring the Covid-ravaged economy back on its feet fast. The country’s reliance on FDI has risen in recent years, as domestic private investments have remained anaemic. Sitharaman stressed the government’s vision to build a self-reliant modern India, driven by 5 “Is” — intent, inclusion, investment, infrastructure and innovation. She asserted that there has been continued macro-economic stability and recovery in recent months. For instance, the highest-ever goods and services tax (GST) collection shows the bright spot and suggests greater formalisation of the economy and tax compliance, she said. “The finance minister remarked that macro-economic stability, infrastructure-led economic growth opportunities, financial sector reforms, and positioning as a strong player in global supply chains are just some of the ways India continues to rise as a global economic powerhouse,” the finance ministry said in a statement. The 15 new unicorns in five years itself reflects that the country’s growing start-up ecosystem is amongst the best in the world, she said. While hard-selling her government’s various initiatives to draw investments, Sitharaman also informed the investors of a significant drop in new Covid cases in India and the decline of the second wave. She also highlighted the government’s Aatmanirbhar initiative and steps taken to ensure infrastructure-led growth.
Source: Financial Express
Public debt accounted for 88.10 per cent of total outstanding liabilities at end-March 2021. The government's total liabilities stood at Rs 116.21 lakh crore at the end of March 2021, up 6.36 per cent from the previous quarter, according to official data released on Friday. The total liabilities (including liabilities under the 'Public Account') of the government were Rs 109.26 lakh crore at end-December 2020. "This represented a quarter-on-quarter increase of 6.36 per cent in Q4, FY21," said the Public Debt Management report for the January-March 2021 quarter, released by the finance ministry. Public debt accounted for 88.10 per cent of total outstanding liabilities at endMarch 2021. Nearly 29.33 per cent of the outstanding dated securities had a residual maturity of less than 5 years. The ownership pattern shows the share of commercial banks at 37.8 per cent and 25.3 per cent for insurance companies. "The yields on Government securities hardened in the secondary market due to increase in supply of G-secs during the quarter. "Further, hardening of yields was more on the short end of curve due to increase in weekly borrowing and also announcement of resumption of normal liquidity operations by the Reserve Bank," the report said. However, the yields were supported by decision of the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee meeting held on February 5, 2021, wherein it kept the policy repo rate unchanged at 4 per cent and reiterated to continue with the accommodative stance. During January-March quarter of 2020-21, the central government issued dated securities worth Rs 3,20,349 crore as against Rs 76,000 crore in the year-ago period, while repayments were at Rs 29,145 crore. The Reserve Bank conducted nine special and normal open market operations (OMOs) involving simultaneous purchase and sale of government securities during the quarter. As per the ownership pattern of securities, the share of commercial banks stood at 37.77 per cent, slightly lower than 37.8 per cent at end-December 2020. Share of insurance companies and provident funds at end-March 2021 stood at 25.3 per cent and 4.44 per cent, respectively.
Source: Economic Times
Members of the Coimbatore District Textile Workers’ Union on Friday petitioned chief minister MK Stalin urging him to take necessary steps to operate National Textile Corporation (NTC) mills in accordance with the lockdown restrictions in the state. According to TS Rajamani, president of the union, all the seven NTC mills – five mills in Coimbatore and one each in Ramanathapuram and Sivaganga districts – were closed in April 2020 following the lockdown imposed to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. But even after the government had relaxed the lockdown norms and allowed industries/mills to operate following the lockdown restrictions, the mills were not operated. Subsequently, trade unions had staged multiple protests demanding the higher-ups to operate the mills. “Following the continuous protest, the Union government had granted permission to operate three mills – one each in Coimbatore, Sivaganga and Ramanthapuram districts – with 50% manpower. Citing several reasons including fund crunch, they refused to operate remaining mills,” he said. With the help of members of Parliament, we met Union government officials and they in turn had assured us that all.
Source: Times of India
ICCI chief cites agriculture, textile, pharmaceutical as potential sectors for cooperation The business community of Pakistan and Niger should focus on exploring partnerships as both countries have a good potential to enhance business relations in many fields including agriculture, textile, food products, pharmaceuticals, auto industry and mining, said Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) President Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan. During a dinner reception arranged for a delegation of Niger, Khan said that by developing close cooperation with Niger, Pakistan could get better access to the African market for trade and exports. The ICCI chief added, “Africa is a big market and Pakistani entrepreneurs should ensure better penetration into Niger’s markets, which will enable them to fully tap the African region for trade and investment.” He highlighted that Pakistan was producing several good quality products including textile, rice, pharmaceuticals, surgical instruments, IT products, light engineering goods, sports and leather products. Khan emphasised that Niger’s business community should focus on importing these products from Pakistan, which would help in further improving bilateral trade between the two countries. Speaking on the occasion, Niger’s Minister for Commerce and Trade Gabo Sabo Moctar said that his country was eager to attract foreign investment and had taken steps to improve business climate, therefore, Pakistani investors should focus on Niger for joint ventures and investment. The minister told the business community that his government was planning to establish Special Economic Zones (SEZs) for Pakistan for investment in various sectors. “Pakistani investors can invest in Niger in infrastructure development, agriculture, textile, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and other industries,” Moctar said, adding that promoting trade with Pakistan in multiple sectors was the priority of his government. He hoped that their current visit to Pakistan would help to set up sustainable business partnerships between the two countries. The businessmen of Pakistan and Niger interacted with each other and exchanged views on potential areas of cooperation. They discussed the setting up of a joint working group for exchange of experiences at the policy and operational levels to establish SEZs so that both countries could build long-term trade relations.
Source: The Tribune
The United Kingdom recently launched negotiations with 11 countries belonging to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a £9-trillion free trade area, to join the partnership as that would give its exporters and services firms better access to these markets. UK exports to these countries are set to increase by £37 billion—a 65 per cent rise—by 2030. A deal would open new markets for our services industries, lower tariffs on goods like cars and whisky, and create new opportunities for UK farmers, according to an official press release. Joining the free trade area would boost growth and support British jobs. These benefits would increase over time, with the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan and the Republic of Korea all having expressed interest in joining, the release said. UK negotiating teams will be working over the coming months to ensure a good deal for businesses, producers and consumers across Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Membership would lower tariffs on key British exports like cars and whisky in industries employing hundreds of thousands of people and should mean tariff-free trade for 99.9 per cent of UK exports. The deal should also benefit British farmers. With CPTPP countries set to account for 25 per cent of global import demand for meat by the end of the decade, joining would support farmers selling high-quality produce like beef and lamb into fast-growing markets like Mexico, the release said. CPTTP is particularly advanced in both digital and services trade, which plays to Britain’s strengths as the world’s second-largest services exporter. An agreement would make it simpler for the UK to sell services digitally and cheaper and easier for tech firms to expand abroad. Joining CPTPP would also open new financial and professional services markets for British firms, making it easier for highly skilled Brits to live and work in member countries. “Membership of the CPTTP free-trade partnership would open up unparalleled opportunities for British businesses and consumers in the fast-growing Indo-Pacific,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. “It’s an exciting opportunity to build on this country’s entrepreneurial spirit and freetrading history to bring economic benefits across the whole of the UK,” he added.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Asked if the US trade actions could conflict with promoting solar energy, US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said stopping forced labour comes first. China on Friday hit out at a "bandit-like" US government after Washington banned imports of solar panel materials from a Chinese company and placed trade restrictions on four others for alleged use of forced labour in Xinjiang. The White House said in a statement Thursday that the use of forced labour was part of Beijing's systematic effort to repress millions of ethnic Uyghurs and other minorities in the far-west region. Washington said that Hoshine Silicon Industry would not be able to sell its products in the United States due to "reasonable indications" of forced labour in its manufacturing process. The Commerce Department also announced that Hoshine and four other Xinjiang firms would be subject to tight restrictions on their ability to acquire US commodities, software and technology. "The United States believes that state-sponsored forced labour in Xinjiang is both an affront to human dignity and an example of the PRC's unfair economic practices," the White House said. China lashed out at the order, calling it a "bandit-like act no different from pillaging other people's property" that creates "forced poverty and forced unemployment" among Xinjiang's people. "The US uses human rights as a pretence... to unscrupulously oppress the industrial development of Xinjiang," said foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian at a routine briefing Friday. Zhao said the United States "politicises normal economic and trade cooperation" and "wantonly oppresses Chinese companies... to hold back China's development". The Xinjiang region supplies close to half of the world's polysilicon used in solar panels. The four other companies include two producers of polysilicon materials -- Daqo New Energy and Xinjiang GCL New Energy Material Technology -- plus aluminium processor Xinjiang East Hope Nonferrous Metals and state-owned Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, already sanctioned for alleged forced labour in cotton processing. An official from US Customs and Border Protection, which issued the block on Hoshine imports, estimated that the United States imported goods from the company worth $150 million over the past 30 months. Asked if the US trade actions could conflict with promoting solar energy, US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said stopping forced labour comes first. "Our environmental goals will not be achieved on the backs of human beings in a forced labour environment," Mayorkas told reporters. The import ban on Hoshine follows similar action against producers and users of cotton and tomato products from the region as well as hair products such as weaves. The United States also recently placed a ban on imports from a leading Chinese fishing company, Dalian Ocean, for its alleged use of forced labour, unrelated to Xinjiang.
Source: New Indian Express
