The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council

MARKET WATCH 16 JUNE, 2022

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CBIC issues guidelines for post audit and refund claims under GST

This is following several reports CBIC received about different practices being followed by the field formations, creating issues for taxpayers The Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) has put out a procedure relating to sanction, post-audit and review of refund claims for taxpayers. This is following several reports CBIC received about different practices being followed by the field formations, creating issues for taxpayers. The indirect tax body clarified that post-audit to be conducted only for refund claims amounting to Rs one lakh and above till further instructions, the CBIC said. Also that while passing refund orders, officers are required to upload a detailed speaking order along with refund sanction order in the GST form. The matter has been examined with the twin purpose of ensuring uniformity in procedure and enabling effective monitoring of sanction of refund claims to safeguard interest of revenue, the board noted.

Source: Business Standard

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GST GoM on rate rationalisation to meet on June 17; to deliberate on merger of slabs, rate change

In what could change the matrix of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, especially when it comes to exisitng rates and merger of slabs, the key Group of Ministers (GoM) is all set to meet on June 17 to firm up its proposal. According to sources, who did not wish to be quoted, "The GoM is likely to discuss the proposal to shift rate slabs from current 5 percent to 7 percent or 8 percent and the 18 percent slab to 20 percent." However, the GoM is likely to put in a word of caution to be adopted by the council while considering its report that the “timing of implementation requires careful consideration,” sources added. Also on the agenda of the GoM is to "prune the list of exemptions which can be continued under GST, correction of inverted duty structure wherever needs, especially to give a nuanced look at the textile sector," sources added. It was during the last council meeting in December 2021, when the council had unanimously decided to postpone the decision to correct the inverted duty structure on textiles and had left it for the GoM to come back to the council on the proposal after a detailed study. However, experts and key policy watchers shared that the government might not want to upset the textile traders and manufacturers given the upcoming key state elections, especially in the state of Gujarat. Meanwhile, the GoM has had a series of meeting already last year in November, and it is expected that the GoM could give its final report post the upcoming meeting. “GoM was given time to submit its final report before next GST Council meet, which is likely to be scheduled by the end of this month, thus, it could be that the next meeting of GoM on June 17, could be its final meeting, post which the chairman of the GoM Karnataka CM Basavaraj Somappa Bommai, could be submitting the report to the GST Council and union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman,” sources to CNBCTV18. Though, "The discussion on the rate change and slab merger could not be an easy task, given the opposition party ruled states who are the members of the GoM -- Rajasthan, West Bengal and Kerala, who could dissent in the meeting if the proposed rate changes and slabs are leading to further increase in inflation and cost of living for the common man," sources quoted above added. There are 7 states who are members to the GoM -- Bihar, UP, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Karnataka, Goa and Kerala. Apart from this, when CNBC-TV18 checked the view of the union finance ministry on the rate rationalisation proposal, sources added that the North Block thinks, "Increased inflationary pressures, geo-political developments already impacting economy adversely, rate rationalization will depend on the final report with a calibrated approach of implementation to ensure minimum impact on economy, public sentiment." All eyes are now on June 17, as the crucial meeting could flip the GST situation in either side of the direction for the consumers and the economy

Source: CNBCTV18

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Goyal presses for reviewing e-transmission moratorium

On the WTO reforms proposal, Goyal pressed for retaining the existing special and differential treatment provisions for the developing members under WTO. In the last leg of talks at the World Trade Organisations' ongoing ministerial meeting on Wednesday, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal opposed the proposal to further extend the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmission, arguing that it only favours developed nations. On the WTO reforms proposal, Goyal pressed for retaining the existing special and differential treatment provisions for the developing members under WTO and contested the proposals that could result in fundamental changes in the institutional architecture of WTO “running the risk of skewing the system against the interest of developing countries." With less than 24 hours to go for the conclusion of the 12th ministerial conference, the negotiations went on till midnight on key issues on the table. Goyal urged the member countries to reinvigorate talks on the Work Programme on ecommerce as per its mandate of comprehensively examining all trade-related issues relating to global e-commerce, taking into account the economic, financial, and development needs of developing countries. “I think this moratorium that has been continuing for 24 years needs to be reviewed, relooked at. The work program needs to be reinvigorated, and must provide regulatory space for developing countries to provide a level playing field to domestic SMEs in the digital sector while continuing to contribute to their economies," said Goyal during his intervention. The issue dates back to 1998 when WTO members had agreed not to impose any customs duty on electronic transmission. But, the moratorium has been periodically extended at the ministerial conferences and several countries are seeking to make the moratorium permanent. India is opposed to an extension on grounds that developing countries have been losing revenue. Since digital trade at present is dominated by big tech and developed countries, the moratorium squarely favours the developed nations, India has said. Goyal during his intervention on the thematic discussion on the topic said that between 2017 and 2020, developing countries have lost potential tariff revenue of possibly upward of $50 bn only on the import of 49 digital products. In fact, 95% of this revenue tariff loss is borne by the developing countries, he said. “Is it fair that the cost of the moratorium is almost completely borne by the developing countries for extending duty-free quota, quota-free market access, largely for a very few players? Can we justify that this wealth accumulated by the big tech at the cost of the ability of the emerging markets to generate resources, to meet the basic needs of their large population? By the way, by 2025 this revenue loss is estimated to be $30 bn every year. And imagine what public good can be done using these resources," said Goyal. He flagged that while small exporters of physical products like textiles, handloom, clothing, and footwear, mainly based in the developing countries were facing both domestic taxes as well as customs duties, the big digital exporters are being exempted from customs duties due to the moratorium. “In fact, going forward one estimate says that 40% of cross-border physical global trade will be replaced by 3D printing by 2040. This will actually jeopardize domestic manufacturing capacities, which will be subjected to regular tariffs who would actually become totally uncompetitive," said Goyal.

Source: Live Mint

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India, EU look to make a fresh start for a trade deal in Brussels

India and the European Union (EU) on Friday will kick start formal negotiations towards a free-trade agreement that has been stuck for close to nine years. Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and senior government officials will reach Brussels for the talks, after the ongoing negotiations at the 12th ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization in Geneva are over. The launch of fresh negotiations with the EU comes close on the heels of India signing two trade deals, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Australia; the country is also set to ink a pact with the United Kingdom. As far as the 27-member trade bloc is concerned, experts believe the negotiations will be long-drawn as significant differences need to be bridged, even though both sides aim to conclude negotiations by early 2024.“The resumption of negotiations with the EU after a hiatus of almost nine years, besides the recent launch of the EU-India Trade and Technology Council, is notable. However, these negotiations are expected to be protracted. There are significant differences that need to be bridged regarding all the three pillars -- goods, services, and intellectual property (IP),” Pradeep S Mehta, secretary-general, CUTS International said. India and the EU agreed to resume negotiations for a balanced and comprehensive trade pact; this shall be split into three agreements on trade, geographical indications (GIs), and investment. A Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) was first mooted in 2007 but didn’t move past the negotiating stage. The 16th and last formal round of discussion was held in 2013. Thereafter, both sides tried to restart formal negotiations after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in India but failed to make any headway, with some of the key reasons being disagreement over a bilateral investment pact, and tariff reduction for automobiles and alcoholic drinks. Restarting stalled trade talks shall give fresh impetus to the relationship between India and the EU, amid the change in the geopolitial scenario -- exit of the United Kingdom from the trade bloc and diversification of the supply chain away from China.  “The trifurcation of talks into separate tracks of investment protection, geographical indications, and legacy trade issues is a pragmatic step. Both sides must channelise this positive momentum and invest political capital to conclude the negotiations,” Mehta said. According to Mehta, the EU will desire enhanced market access in the sectors where India is unwilling to liberalise, seek enhanced IP protection, greater regulation of digital trade, and opening up of India's domestic services markets, all of which India is wary of. India will seek to enhance its services exports, particularly by seeking greater ease of movement for professionals, which the EU will resist. Sustainability issues, including labour and environment, will also be high on the EU's agenda, he said. At $64.96 billion, the EU made for more than 15 per cent of India’s overall goods exports during the financial year 2021-22, while imports stood at $51.4 billion during the same time period. The EU is also India’s second-largest export destination and third-largest trading partner. The share of trade with the EU as compared to total bilateral trade has progressively shrunk in recent years. When the strategic partnership was initiated in 2004, export to the bloc was 21.8 per cent of all exports; import was 17.3 per cent of all inbound trade.

Source: Business Standard

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Ecommerce customs duty key to end big tech’s monopoly, rent-seeking behaviour: India

New Delhi also sought a review and relook at the moratorium on e-commerce transmissions that has continued for 24 years as developed countries have blocked proposals by India, South and other poor nations to impose the customs duties on e-transmissions. India on Wednesday said that a G20 and OECD like pact on levying customs duties on etransmissions should be considered to end the monopolistic, rentseeking and anticompetitive practices of big tech companies, and allow developing countries to share a small portion of the super profits and huge benefits they enjoy. New Delhi also sought a review and relook at the moratorium on e-commerce transmissions that has continued for 24 years as developed countries have blocked proposals by India, South and other poor nations to impose the customs duties on e-transmission. Making a case for levying these duties, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said that this would create a level playing field for domestic companies when compared to global tech giants whose monopolistic and anti-competitive practices are already under the scanner in many many large countries. World Trade Organization (WTO) members can’t impose customs duties on electronic transmissions since a temporary moratorium was put in place in 1998- something that India, South Africa and other developing countries have opposed. At a thematic session at MC12, he said that five big tech giant companies control the market, make super profits, have high market capitalisation, and don’t allow new entrants in this space due to their financial clout and influence. He said some of these firms come from “non-transparent economies” and are able to get large penetration into other markets into the developing world without any cost to them, neither do they pay income tax which hopefully will now become a global minimum tax after the efforts made at the G20 and the OECD. The minister suggested that a similar effort be made on the custom duty component across the world to atleast allow the developing countries to share such small portion of the super profits & huge benefits that these few big tech companies are enjoying. He said that MSMEs face considerable challenge in selling their products through online retail platforms due to rent seeking and other business practices of some of the big tech platform owners including squeezing the profits of domestic MSMEs by retaining a disproportionate share of their sale value, leveraging access to data, often even personal data and operating as vendors themselves and compelling MSMEs to buy associated services like payment gateways and logistics. Instead of creating or maintaining rules for global e-commerce, developing countries first need to focus on improving domestic physical and digital infrastructure, creating supportive policy and regulatory framework and developing their digital capabilities, India said. Referring to studies by UNCTAD and the South Centre, Goyal said some countries in global exports of digitizable products have a 94% share while 86 out of 95 developing countries are net importers of digital products. During 2017-2020, developing countries have lost potential tariff revenue of $50 billion only on import of 49 digital products and 95% of this revenue tariff loss is borne by the developing countries. “Is it fair that the cost of the moratorium is almost completely borne by the developing countries for extending duty free quota, quota free market access, largely for a very few players,” he said. Noting that by 2025 this revenue loss is estimated to be $30 billion every year, he said: “Can we justify that this wealth accumulated by big tech at the cost of the ability of the emerging markets to generate resources, to meet the basic needs of their large population”. Goyal said that it is a custom duty and should many members feel that they don’t want to impose that on electronic transmission products, they are free to do so. “Nobody is forcing anybody to impose a custom duty on electronic transmission products. It is out of your free will, your choice that you impose custom duty,” the minister said. “Either bilaterally, suo moto, or in any which way each of us wants. India may chose to keep its electronic transmission market open but that would be a matter of choice that India would exercise and not as a compulsion,” he explained. Global e-commerce is highly uneven, he said, and a few global companies account for 90% of the value created by it.

Source: Economic Times

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India-UK FTA negotiations: Only a comprehensive deal will enable businesses

When the fifth and sixth largest economies in the world enter trade negotiations, it matters to business and consumers in both countries, and it matters to the wider international community. As India and the UK continue negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement there are high expectation that the deal could be a game-changer for trade, investment, and job creation. A win-win for both countries. But only if the deal is comprehensive, has depth, and covers services as well as goods. Both countries have been busy in successfully negotiating other deals in recent months – India with Australia and the UAE, and the UK with New Zealand and Australia. It is fair to say, though, that negotiations between two economies with the scale, depth of engagement, and complementarity of the UK and India should be more ambitious than with these other partners. The size of the prize is much larger. That is why we have seen political will and ambition throughout the process. It was apparent when Ministers Goyal and Trevelyan launched the talks in January, continued by Prime Ministers Johnson and Modi in April, and has been evident during three rounds of negotiations so far by the negotiating teams. That political will is vital. So is the enthusiasm of businesses. And businesses want a deal that is comprehensive, spans goods and services sectors and delivers meaningful reforms that make it easier to do business. To unlock the full opportunity, negotiations need to cover four broad areas: tariffs; non-tariff barriers; IP, and digital and data services; and investment.

Tariffs Lower tariffs will enable businesses to trade at better price points, allowing more businesses to export and existing exporters to expand. Consumers benefit from lower prices. Alcoholic spirits, food, textiles and the healthcare sectors are all areas where real benefits can be achieved. In 2019, the UK imported just under USD 2 billion worth of textiles and clothing from India according to figures from the World Bank. In the same year, it imported over USD 3.7 billion from Bangladesh, nearly double the total value. Bangladesh, as well as other countries in the South Asia region, have a significant tariff advantage over India. If tariffs on textiles and related products were reduced through a UK-India FTA we would expect India’s share of UK imports to rise considerably. Standards, Customs Procedures and other non-tariff barriers Reducing non-tariff barriers to goods trade, such as by aligning standards and simplifying burdensome and costly customs procedures will also be key to unlocking the India-UK relationship’s full potential. As with tariffs, certain sectors that might take priority include Food and Drink and Life Science and Healthcare. Companies will be able to trade more easily as a result and consumers thus get heightened access to their products. Our services sectors can expand rapidly too, particularly if there is mutual recognition of qualifications in sectors like accounting, architecture and legal services.

IP and data IP protection and alignment of data protection rules will be important to drive growth in the innovative, tech-rich, and digitally-driven future-focused industries that will increasingly drive expansion of UK-India trade. Digital technology, data and the exchange of information are increasingly important across all services sectors, and therefore are essential to services powerhouses like the UK and India. This is a trading agreement being negotiated in a completely different world two years ago, with work, education, healthcare, shopping and banking increasingly done on digital platforms. In all these cases – tariffs, customs procedures, standards, IP and data – positive reforms and agreements will help more SMEs to enter the market as it is these businesses – the cornerstones of both economies – that lack the resources to overcome the existing barriers to trade. And it isn’t just about trade.

Investor confidence Investor confidence, across all sectors, will be vital in accelerating and expanding job creation in India. The Government of India have taken really positive steps, most notably the amendment to the retrospective tax Bill. If both Governments go further, and successfully negotiate an Investment Chapter through the FTA, it would help to spur two way investment flows, creating prosperity and jobs for more people in both countries. For India, it will mean more UK companies are making in and exporting from India.

Win-win The UK companies understand and support Prime Minister Modi’s self-reliant India mission. In fact, a 2021 UKIBC survey found that 65% of UK businesses view Atmanirbhat Bharat as an opportunity to do more business with India. So, if the FTA increases investor protections and makes it easier and cheaper for companies to import goods and services from our open, global economy, then we will see increased investment, many thousands more jobs and ever-more world leading technology being transferred to and created in India. India and the UK are already close partners and successful FTA negotiations can bind us even closer together.

Source: Times of India

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India vs China: The advanced industry production race

While China surged ahead in 1995 in terms of advanced industry production, the current odds are stacked in India’s favour. If correct actions are taken, we can easily surpass China A quarter century ago, it was an open question as to which nation—India or China—would vault ahead in advanced industry production. It was China that won. Between 1995 and 2018, China’s output of advanced industries grew six times faster than India’s. Notwithstanding, India has some key strengths it can build upon. To assess India’s performance, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) examined data from the OECD on seven key industries: pharmaceuticals, electrical equipment, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, other transport equipment, computers, electronics, and IT and information services. As the Indian economy has grown, many of these have gained global market share. India is a major provider of active pharmaceutical ingredients and the US is the largest market for Indian IT services suppliers such as TCS, Infosys, Wipro etc, which collectively enjoyed some $50 billion in sales in 2020. There is another way to examine India’s advanced industry strengths—looking at their share of India’s economy compared to the global economy; what regional economists term a location quotient (LQ). If India had the same share of advanced industries as the global economy, its LQ would be 1. In 1995, India’s LQ for advanced industries 0.66, meaning that its advanced industry production as a share of its economy was a third lesser than the rest of world. But by 2018, its LQ had increased to 1.14. In fact, the Indian economy is now more specialised in advanced industry than is US’s (LQ 0.94), China’s (1.3), and Germany’s (1.6). India had 44% more pharmaceutical production as a share of its economy than the global average in 2018, and 89% more IT and other information services. Performance and prospects are much better than they were a decade ago. From 1995-2014, advanced industry production in China grew more than nine times faster than in India. However, from 2014-2018, Chinese output grew just 50% faster than its Indian counterpart. But when looking at percentage growth, it was a completely different picture: output in all seven industries grew faster in India than China, with overall advanced industry output growing 43% faster in India. Given the efforts by the Trump administration to limit China’s predatory economic and technology practices, with the current slowdown in the China economy, it is likely that these trends have continued and perhaps even risen to this day. So what can India do to take advantage of this favourable trend? First, India’s R&D tax credit should be increased. India ranks 26th of 34 major countries in R&D tax generosity. If it wants to exceed China’s credit generosity and move to the 7th rank, it would need to triple its R&D credit rate. For this, it could start with incentivising R&D in its $27 billion PLI programme. Second, India will need to strengthen its intellectual property system, including patents, and build entrepreneurial and institutional capacity to leverage it. Third, the world is moving away from the post-Cold War utopian model of global free trade. China helped destroy that with its aggressive innovation mercantilist actions and its threats to the global order. As such, there is likely to be continued decoupling from China by democratic nations. India is well positioned to take advantage of that trend, and build its advanced economy in part on production moving out of China. It has already begun to engage with rest of the world on these lines. Another key step is to engage deeply with the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework proposed by the Biden administration in a mutually beneficial manner. The bottom line is to make it easier for MNCs and domestic enterprises to do business in India. This will require unrelenting focus on enhancing India’s competitiveness through convergence between policies both horizontally and vertically and improving implementation. India has made significant progress on advanced industries, particularly in the last decade. It has the potential to make even more progress in this coming decade, but only if it takes the needed steps to succeed.

Source: Financial Express

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Exports rise 21%, imports surge 63% widening trade deficit to record $24.29 bn

Merchandise exports rose to $38.94 bn in May; oil, coal, gold purchases lifted imports to $63.22 bn India's merchandise exports in May rose by 20.6% to $38.94 billion, while the trade deficit ballooned to a record $24.29 billion, according to the government data released on Wednesday. Imports surged 62.8% to $63.22 billion, the data showed. The trade deficit stood at $6.53 billion in the same month last year. Cumulative exports in April-May 2022-23 rose by about 25% to $78.72 billion. Imports in April-May increased 45.4% to $123.41 billion. The trade deficit during the first two months of this fiscal widened to $44.69 billion, against $21.82 billion in the year-earlier period. Commenting on the data, ICRA Ltd. chief economist Aditi Nayar said that the mild sequential dip in non-oil exports amid a sharp jump in gold imports widened India's merchandise trade deficit to $24 billion in May. "Based on the expectation that gold imports may reduce after the Akshaya Tritiya season, the trade deficit may demonstrate some moderation in the current month," she said. Ms. Nayar added that based on the performance in April-May 2022, "we foresee the current account deficit to widen to $26 billion in Q1 FY23, from $23 billion in Q3 FY22 and an expected $16 billion in Q4 FY22," she said. Petroleum and crude oil imports more than doubled to $19.2 billion. Coal, coke and briquettes imports jumped to $5.4 billion, from $2 billion in May 2021. Gold imports increased to $6 billion, from $677 million in May 2021. Engineering goods exports in May increased by 12.7% to $9.7 billion, while petroleum products exports grew by 60.9% to $8.54 billion. Gems and jewellery exports stood at $3.22 billion compared with $2.96 billion in May 2021. Exports of chemicals rose 17.4% to $2.5 billion in May. Similarly, shipments of pharma and ready-made garments of all textiles grew by 10.3% and 27.9% to $2 billion and $1.41 billion, respectively. Export sectors that recorded negative growth in May included iron ore, cashew, handicrafts, plastics, carpet and spices. The Commerce Ministry said the estimated value of services import for May was $14.43 billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 45% from $9.95 billion in the same month last year. "The estimated value of services imports for April-May 2022 is $28.48 billion exhibiting a positive growth of 45.5% vis-a-vis April-May 2021 ($19.57 billion)," it added.

Source: The Hindu

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Padma Bridge to help boost trade with India'

Speakers tell the 21st BLPA founding anniversary event Speakers at a programme on Tuesday said Padma Bridge will play an important role in enhancing cross-border trade with India and beyond. To tap the economic potential in the South Asian economic bloc, they also called for an immediate improvement in logistics at land ports in India and Bangladesh with removing tax and non-tax barriers to reap mutual benefits. The observations and call were made at the programme organised at a city hotel, marking the 21st founding anniversary of Bangladesh Land Port Authority (BLPA). State minister for shipping Md Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury was present as the chief guest. Mr Chowdhury said the country's dream infrastructure project Padma Multipurpose Bridge will be inaugurated on June 25 and the 6.15-kilometre bridge will certainly enhance the economic activities across the country. And the land ports will gain huge benefits from it with dealing increased trade between India and Bangladesh. "We need to enhance the capacity of the ports and improve its services. We have already automated two ports and do the same for others in the coming days." Lawmaker and former FBCCI president Md Shafiul Islam said bilateral trade between Bangladesh and India is less than US$10 billion. "There are enormous economic potential but we could not properly utilise this," he added. He said India is one of the major cotton producing countries while Bangladesh's main export earning sector is apparel. "We can source it from India and export finished goods to the neighbouring country which would help enhance trade," he said. Experts predict that Padma Bridge will add 1.5 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). "I think it will increase by 2.0 per cent in the next five years through enhancing cross-border trade significantly," he added. Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram K Doraiswami said bilateral trade between the two friendly-countries continues growing remarkably. In the outgoing FY'22, he said, Bangladesh would like to see that the value of her export to India has not just maintained a US$ 1.0 billion-mark. It has gone up to US$2.0 billion. Simultaneously, India's export to Bangladesh also increased because of improvement in logistics. "Just imagine, if we significantly improve logistics on both sides how much it will benefit us," he said. The Indian envoy said Bangladesh and India started joint study on economic partnership agreement, which will hopefully be endorsed by trade ministers soon, allowing the countries to start negotiations. "So, well before Bangladesh graduates from the LDC status, we should have comprehensive economic partnership that would also put pressure on us to improve logistics further," he added. Chairman of parliamentary standing committee on ministry of shopping Major (retd) Rafiqul Islam urged the officials handling land ports to carry out their duties in a faster way to avoid waste of time. "The unnecessary time loss would ultimately cost the consumers," he said. Secretary of the ministry of shipping Md Mostafa Kamal said they want to make the land ports stronger to enhance crossborder trade with India. "Land ports account for over 40 per cent of bilateral trade with India," he added. Presenting a paper, BLPA chairman Md Alamgir said there are 24 land ports, including one with Myanmar, across the country. Of them, 12 are in operation fully. Citing statistics of inter-regional trade in three regions, the East Asian and Sub-Saharan economic blocs accounted for 50 per cent and 22 per cent of global trade while it is less than 5.0 per cent in BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal) region. "We need to increase the volume further as there are huge untapped potential available," he said, suggesting lifting trade barriers like inadequate transport and trade infrastructure, tariff and non-tariff barriers, cumbersome regulations and manual process and poor connectivity and trust deficit. President of India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IBCCI) Abdul Matlub Ahmed also spoke at the event.

Source: The Financial Express

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University Of Amsterdam: Embracing Recycled Textile And Sustainable Washing

Yearly we produce 110 million tons of textile waste, that is 13 kg per person globally. How can we motivate consumers to buy recycled goods and pay a higher price for these? But next to waste, we should look at how we wash our textile goods. Washing textiles is a major route for microplastics entering the environment. How can we motivate people to adopt measures that are less polluting? Two studies are going to find answers to these questions. Recycling textiles Textile recycling requires relatively pure waste streams. But most textile waste consists of blends of especially cotton and polyester. As a result most of this waste goes to landfill or is burned. Fortunately there are promising new techniques to recycle cotton even when mixed with polyester. But these techniques can only be successful when consumers embrace them and the products they bring to the market. Social psychologists Frenk van Harreveld and Cameron Brick will study the willingness of consumers to buy textile products that are produced with recycled materials. They will identify psychological factors behind our intentions to recycle clothing waste, and our uptake of recycled textiles produced by new techniques.

Microplastics emissions from clothes washing Washing behaviour is often overlooked as a contributor to our ecological footprint of textiles. But washing textiles releases synthetic microfibers and is a major route for microplastics entering the environment. Little is known about the willingness of individuals to adopt pollution-reducing measures. In this project, Brick will develop a novel, human-centred research method to collect household emission data, and investigate how citizen science leads to learning and engagement, stimulating pro-environmental behaviour. The overarching goal is to investigate how local behavioural changes can help reduce global pollution For this project Brick and his interdisciplinary team received a 47K seed grant Sustainable Prosperity from the University of Amsterdam.

Source: India Education Diary

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SA’s April retail trade sales ‘surprisingly’ good, following lower market expectations

South Africa’s retail trade sales jumped by 3.4% year-on-year for April, beating market expectations. On Wednesday, Statistics South Africa said the biggest growth came from household furniture, appliance and equipment retailers - at 6.8%. Textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods retailers saw a 6.4% sales increase, while general dealers had a 5.4% growth. In a note, Investec economist Lara Hodes said Bloomberg expected 1.7% year-on-year growth for April. That said, the hardware, paint and glass category contracted by -8.3% as Covid-19-fuelled demand for home improvement products declined. .[T]his category of the market has seen a marked decline as many companies have mandated a return to the office or a hybrid working policy, decreasing demand for DIY and home enhancement-related products," said Hodes. She added that growth in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods was aided by people returning to work and spending more time outside their homes, as restrictions eased. "When measured on a month-on-month, seasonally adjusted basis, retail sales declined by -0.2%. Many households are still financially stretched in the current economic environment," said Hodes. She explained that high unemployment, a "sluggish" job market, and soaring food prices continue to put disposable incomes under pressure. The pressure is not likely to ease any time soon, with Hodes pointing out that the South African Reserve bank may raise interest rates by another 50 basis points in July. In a note, Absa’s corporate and investment banking division said: "Against the backdrop of extreme floods in KwaZulu-Natal, intense load shedding, and a delay in the payment of the R350 Social Relief of Distress grant, retail sales held up surprisingly well." The division added that the 3.4% growth was better than its 1.4% forecast and Thomson Reuters’ 1.6% consensus. Despite the good news, Absa said going forward, expenditure will remain low due to rising inflation, low economic growth, increasing financing costs and low business and consumer sentiment. "However, a few mitigating factors are there, in our view … accumulated household savings in South Africa are likely to provide some support for consumption in the near term," said Absa. But the support will not be as much as that in wealthier countries, which saw an increase in household savings rates during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Source: News24

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Colombia zeroes import duty on 60 textile items to fight inflation

The Government of Colombia, through the ministry of commerce, industry and tourism, has announced the implementation of zero per cent import tariff on 165 goods under Decree 307 of 2022. The list includes 60 textile items, comprising various types of yarn, fabrics and carpets. The move is part of government's efforts to ease price rise and tame inflation. Citing the ‘Commercial Report, March 2022’ of Embassy of India, Colombia, The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC) said that the Colombian government had announced the removal of duty in March. Sharing the information with the industry, SRTEPC has asked its members to explore the opportunity to enhance India’s textile exports to Colombia. As per the information provided by Embassy of India (EOI), Bogota, the Colombian government has removed import duty on textile items that fall under HS codes 50 to 58 and 60. Colombia and other Latin American countries are struggling with high rate of inflation caused due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN had said recently, adding that high inflation is pushing large section of population into poverty. Colombian government has taken various steps including the removal of duty on various essential goods to control inflation and poverty. According to data from Fibre2Fashion’s market insight tool TexPro, Colombia had imported textile items worth $1.228 billion in April 2021-March 2022, which comprised 53.72 per cent fabric, 39.27 per cent yarn and 7.01 per cent fibre. The country imported home textiles worth $110.215 million in the same period. Flooring and carpet import was 17.07 per cent. Colombia imported apparel worth $475.426 million in the same period. Colombia exported apparel worth $399.093 million and home textiles worth $61.103 million during 12 months to March 2022, as per TexPro. This shows that the government also wants to push domestic textile industry so that the country can boost its economy by promoting export of finished textile items.

Source: Fibre2 Fashion

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Austria's Lenzing partners with TfS to build sustainable supply chains

Austria-headquartered Lenzing Group has announced that it has joined the chemical industry’s sustainable supply chain initiative, Together for Sustainability (TfS). Together with Lenzing, numerous internationally active chemical companies have joined the initiative. Their common goal is to make the global supply chains of the chemical industry sustainable. “Joining the TfS initiative is another clear commitment to improving the environmental footprint of the global textile and nonwoven industries and proves that sustainability is taken very seriously at Lenzing – so much so that sustainability is at the heart of our business strategy. So much so, it sits at the core of the group’s business strategy. The industry needs innovation in order to transition from linear to circular ways of working, and Lenzing will continue to partner across the supply chain to bring this vision to life,” said Robert van de Kerkhof, chief commercial officer fibre at Lenzing. Complex global sustainability challenges require a collaborative approach to developing systemic solutions, involving many stakeholder groups. In order to make the global textile and nonwovens industries more sustainable and bring about systemic change, Lenzing has therefore also been building on partnerships within its sustainability strategy 'Naturally Positive' for many years. “I am very proud to welcome Lenzing to the TfS family, bringing the TfS membership to 37 companies. Together and with our strategic partners we continue to expand our reach and increase our impact on the sustainability performance in chemical supply chains. Given the regulatory landscape, climate challenges and market conditions, the need for sustainable businesses only intensifies. TfS is the crucial enabler to make supply chains and businesses at large more sustainable and contribute to developing a better world,” said TfS president Bertrand Conquéret. The global TfS initiative follows the principles of the UN Global Compact and Responsible Care.

Source: Fibre2 Fashion

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