The recently-concluded India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) that came into force on Thursday would benefit Indian exporters, especially in the textile and garment sector, said exporters here. Officials and representatives of Federation of Indian Export Organisations flagged off export consignments from Ennore Adani Container Terminal under the ECTA. According to FIEO, textiles and garments would gain immensely, especially made-ups, apparel and garments. Other segments that could gain larger market share within short term from Tamil Nadu were gems and jewellery, leather and non-leather footwear segment, handicrafts, auto parts, and engineering goods. During financial year 2021-2022, export form Tamil Nadu to Australia was to the tune of $ 384 million and during the current financial year, from April to October, exports from the State to Australia were worth $ 322 million. It was expected to tough $ 500 million. The Federation had updated HSN code wise import tariffs in Australia under ECTA, including Rules of Origin criteria for getting duty benefits and required standards and certification requirements for Australian Market. According to T. Rajkumar, chairman of Confederation of Indian Textile Industry, India’s ready-made garment exports to Australia saw growth of an average of 11.84% in the last five years. Though the share of India’s textile exports was only around 5% now, free movement of textile and apparel goods on zero per cent duty would help exporters increase shipments to Australia. Ravi Sam, chairman of Southern India Mills’ Association, said allowing import of 51,000 tonnes of duty-free cotton from January 2023 and 419 tonnes of duty-free cotton from December 29 to 31, from Australia would benefit the cotton textiles value chain in the country that had started facing the shortage of quality cotton with the increased demand
Source: The Hindu
"Glad that IndAus ECTA is entering into force today. It is a watershed moment for our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. It will unlock the enormous potential of our trade and economic ties and boost businesses on both sides. Look forward to welcoming you in India soon," Modi tweeted. The free trade agreement (FTA) between India and Australia will help boost the bilateral trade in goods and services to cross USD 70 billion in the next five years, according to economic think tank GTRI. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) will unlock the enormous potential of economic ties between the two countries, and described its operationalisation as a "watershed" moment. The India-Australia ECTA) has come into force from December 29. "Glad that IndAus ECTA is entering into force today. It is a watershed moment for our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. It will unlock the enormous potential of our trade and economic ties and boost businesses on both sides. Look forward to welcoming you in India soon," Modi tweeted. The free trade agreement (FTA) between India and Australia will help boost the bilateral trade in goods and services to cross USD 70 billion in the next five years, according to economic think tank GTRI.
Source: Economic Times
The Ministry of Textiles (MoT) has invited research proposals for funding for design, development and manufacturing of machinery, tools, equipment and testing instruments under National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM). In a statement, MoT informed that this step has been taken in order to position India as the global leader in technical textiles manufacturing. As on date, high-tech machinery, equipment, plants, special tools and accessories are being largely imported. In order to meet the diverse needs of the textile industry and to make our nation self-reliant and Atmanirbhar, it is essential to go for indigenisation by tapping the local skills in design, engineering, fabrication and prototyping. Hence NTTM under component-I (Research, Innovation and Development) envisages indigenous manufacturing of machinery, equipment, tools and testing instruments for technical textiles on ‘Make in India’ concept. The companies engaged in manufacturing of any machinery (preferably textile machinery), textile/garment value chain manufacturers, research organisations, academic institutions (both public funded and private) can explore this opportunity. The statement also added that the indigenous development of state-of-the-art technical textile machinery and equipment would support and enhance the manufacturing capabilities of high-end technological products, and thus would play an instrumental role in driving India’s technology readiness level in technical textiles.
Source: Apparel Resources
Small businesses are set to directly benefit from the elimination of import duties from Australia, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said at the launch of the interim trade pact between both nations. “Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are one to create jobs and use the benefit of the duty becoming zero as MSME accounts for the majority of our exports,” Goyal said. The interim pact, also known as the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), has the potential to double bilateral trade to $50 billion in half a decade. The trade deal was signed on April 2 and the negotiations were completed in a record 88 days. “This is an agreement negotiated with the speed of Brett Lee and the perfection of Sachin Tendulkar," Goyal said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the operationalisation of the agreement as a "watershed" moment. “Glad that IndAus ECTA is entering into force today. It is a watershed moment for our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. It will unlock the enormous potential of our trade and economic ties and boost businesses on both sides. Look forward to welcoming you in India soon," Modi tweeted. Goyal said the deal was a win-win situation for both the nations. India will get cheaper raw materials such as coal, aluminium for Indian industries, which will help the country become more competitive and provide quality goods for Indian consumers at affordable prices. Australia, which largely imports most of their finished products, will also benefit from the agreement. India will benefit from the preferential market access provided by Australia on 100 per cent of its tariff lines — 98.3 per cent tariff lines from Day One. The rest tariff reduction will be in a phased manner for five years. On the other hand, Australia will get preferential access to over 70 per cent of India’s tariff lines. Around 40 per cent of the tariff lines will get zero-duty access immediately. “ECTA’s entry into force today opens up the world’s largest democracy, with nearly one and a half billion people, to Australian exporters — early entry into force sees Australian exporters receive a tariff cut today, followed by another on January 1,” Australia’s Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell said in a statement. ECTA will also eliminate the double taxation on IT services that was making India less competitive. It will come into effect from April 1. Indian textiles and garments will gain immensely along with opportunities for the handloom sector, A Sakthivel, president of Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), said referring to the trade deal. Other segments in Tamil Nadu that can gain larger market share in Australia are gems and jewellery, leather and non-leather footwear, handicrafts, automobile parts, and engineering products. During April-October, Australia was India’s 10th largest trading partner of India worth $17.04 billion. India exported goods worth $4.73 billion during the first seven months of the current fiscal year, while imported goods worth $12.31 billion during the same period. India is Australia’s sixth-largest trading partner and our fourth-largest export market
Source: Business Standard
On a day when an interim trade deal between India and Australia came into force, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal exuded confidence that at least two free trade agreements (FTAs) could be clinched in 2023. On a day when an interim trade deal between India and Australia came into force, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal exuded confidence that at least two free trade agreements (FTAs) could be clinched in 2023. India is engaged in FTA talks with a number of key economies, including the UK, Canada, the EU and the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC). Moreover, it will likely start negotiations for a broader FTA with Australia in January. While Goyal didn’t name any potential FTA partner, official sources expected India to clinch such pacts with at least the UK and Canada in 2023. Given that negotiations with so many countries are going on simultaneously, the commerce ministry does not have the bandwidth to accede to requests for FTA talks by smaller trading partners like New Zealand (annual trade with New Zealand stands at just $350 million), Goyal indicated. Speaking at an event in Mumbai on Thursday to mark the operationalisation of the IndiaAustralia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), Goyal said it would extend Indian industry duty-free access to a broad range of raw materials from Australia. This will improve domestic industry’s competitiveness in manufacturing as well as exports, he added. The ECTA was signed on April 2. He handed over certificates of origin for the first batch of consignments of Indian goods that would get preferential access under the ECTA. The FTA will benefit a large number of sectors, including textiles, gems and jewellery and also information technology, he added. The Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), signed on April 2, will almost double bilateral trade to $45 billion in five years, according to a CII estimate. A study by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) pegged the potential bilateral trade (both merchandise and services) at $70 billion in five years. Bilateral goods trade worth $23 billion will become duty-free from day one, according to the GTRI. This represented 93% of the $25-billion merchandise trade between India and Australia last fiscal. As for India, 96.4% of its goods exports will get duty-free access to Australia from the Day 1. Most of these products currently taxed at 5% or less in Australia.
Tax relief for IT firms from Apr 1 The implementation of the ECTA will also lead to the abolition of double taxation on IT services provided by Indian firms in Australia from April 1, 2023. Canberra had agreed to tweak its domestic law to stop taxing the offshore income of Indian firms providing technical support there, a pledge that was part of the India Australia ECTA. Using the provisions of the 1991 India-Australia double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA), Australia has been taxing income generated from offshore IT services rendered from India as royalty, even when the same income is being taxed in India as well. This is contrary to the very spirit of such a DTAA and the anomaly is expected to have cost Indian IT companies about $1.3 billion since 2012, according to an industry estimate. Goyal said with the elimination of the double taxation, the IT and ITeS industry will save millions of dollars and possible over $1 billion in 5-7 years. It will give India “the competitive edge” and also create a lot many jobs, he added.
Source: Financial Express
Signing of the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, passage of the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022, launch of strategic research projects in technical textiles and the National Logistics Policy (NLP), and an agreement to launch the European Union-India Trade and Technology Council were some of the major developments in India this year, writes Dipesh Satapathy.
Policy
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in February virtually witnessed the signing of the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which reduces tariffs for 80 per cent of goods and offers zero duty access to 90 per cent of India’s exports to the United Arab Emirates. It is expected to boost annual bilateral trade to $100 billion within five years of its adoption from about $60 billion in 2021. India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) also decided in November to resume negotiations for an FTA. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister Modi agreed in April to launch the EU-India Trade and Technology Council at their meeting in New Delhi. This strategic coordination mechanism will allow both sides to tackle challenges at the nexus of trade, trusted technology and security, and deepen cooperation. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in July put in place an additional arrangement for invoicing, payment, and settlement of exports-imports in Indian rupees to promote global trade and domestic exports and support the global trading community. Authorised dealer banks shall need approval from RBI’s foreign exchange department to avail of this benefit. In November, India made amendments to the Foreign Trade Policy to allow international trade settlements in Indian rupees (INR). The Directorate General of Foreign Trade had earlier permitted invoicing, payment and settlements exports and imports in INR in sync with a July RBI circular. The updated provisions for export realisation in INR were notified for imports for exports, export performance for recognition as status holders, exports under advance authorisation and duty-free import authorisation schemes and exports under the Export Promotion Capital Goods scheme. The lower house of Parliament passed the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022, in August seeking to promote use of non-fossil fuels, including green hydrogen, ethanol and biomass. It is also aimed at helping the country achieve its global commitments related to climate change goals. The upper house approved the bill in December. Odisha state in late November approved seven policies to attract investment. These include the Odisha Apparel and Technical Textiles Policy 2022, which includes incentives like capital investment subsidy, employment cost subsidy and market development initiative; the Industrial Policy Resolution (IPR) 2022; the Odisha Logistics Policy 2022; and the Export Promotion Policy 2022. RBI in December launched the first pilot for retail digital rupee (e₹-R). It would cover select locations in closed user groups comprising participating customers and merchants. The e₹-R would be in the form of a digital token representing legal tender. It would be issued in the same denominations that paper currency and coins are issued. It would be distributed through intermediaries, i.e., banks. The country is taking steps towards developing small modular reactors with up to 300 MW capacity to fulfil its commitment to clean energy transition.
Textile & Garments The textiles ministry in January cleared 20 strategic research projects worth ₹30 crore in specialty fibres and geotextiles under the National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM). The 16 specialty fibre projects comprise five in healthcare, four in industrial and protective textiles, three in energy storage, three in textile waste recycling and one in agriculture. All four geotextile projects were related to infrastructure. In September, the ministry cleared 23 such projects worth around ₹60 crore covering specialty fibres, sustainable textiles, geotextiles, mobiltech and sports textiles. In November, it cleared another 20 such projects worth ₹74 crore covering agrotextiles, speciality fibres, smart textiles, activewear textiles, strategic protective gear and sports textiles. The ministry selected 61 applicants in April under the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for textiles, with an expected total investment of ₹19,077 crore and a projected turnover of ₹184,917 crore over a period of five years. Import duty on cotton was waived off in April till September end. Cotton marketing season in India begins on October 1. Importers had been paying around 11 per cent duty in total before that and the textile industry had been demanding removal of import duty on cotton. The waiver was further extended for a month. A textile cluster was planned in the Burhanpur-Khandwa region in Madhya Pradesh with units for fabric processing, dyeing, printing, finishing and yarn resizing. The region, known for handlooms, is part of the state’s cotton growing area. The first phase of the proposed cluster is likely to be operational within next year end. It is likely to attract investment worth ₹350-400 crore. The government in July approved the continuation of the Scheme for Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) with the same rates as notified by the ministry of textiles for exports of apparel and garments and made-ups till March 31, 2024 to boost exports and job creation in the sector. After the introduction of GST in 2017, the Rebate of State Levies (RoSL) scheme was replaced by the new RoSCTL in March 2019. A textile park will come up at Karnataka’s Khursapur village of Shiggaon taluk in Haveri district. The foundation stone for the park and a garment factory of Texport Industries Pvt Ltd was laid in July. Tamil Nadu is planning to set up a textile park in Kumaralingapuram village in Virudhunagar district and another in capital Chennai. It will unveil a new integrated textile policy to attract investments. Small textile parks are also being created. The Cotton Corporation of India and The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council of India signed a memorandum of understanding in December on branding, traceability and certification of Indian ‘Kasturi’ cotton. Textiles minister Piyush Goyal also announced the creation of an advisory group on man-made fibre. The textiles ministry in October released a draft on second round of PLI scheme for the textile sector. The draft states that textile units can produce apparel, home textiles and textile accessories like embellishments, zippers, trimmings, and elastic tapes under the scheme. Participating companies need to complete their investment during the two-year gestation period, i.e., 2022-23 and 2023-24. The required turnover has to be achieved from the subsequent year. India’s Haryana state cabinet in December approved a new AatmaNirbhar Textile Policy 2022-25 that aims to attract investment worth ₹4,000 crore and generate two lakh jobs. The new policy will supersede the Haryana Textile Policy 2019 and will promote valueadded production. The estimated budget for the policy is ₹1,500 crore.
Logistics
Prime Minister Modi launched the National Logistics Policy (NLP) in September and said the PM Gatishakti National Master Plan will support the policy, which is part of concerted efforts to ensure quick last-mile delivery, end transport-related challenges, save time and cost of manufacturers, prevent wastage of agro-products. The Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) will bring all digital services related to the transportation sector into a single portal, freeing the exporters from a host of long and cumbersome processes. Similarly, a new digital platform—ease of logistics services or ELogs—has also been started to help industry association report about problems. “From 13-14 per cent logistics cost, we should all aim to bring it to single-digit as soon as possible,” Modi said. The logistics division of the department for promotion of industry and internal trade in September created a user-interactive dashboard, which will now allow authorised user associations to log in and lodge issues or suggestions for the government to track and resolve in a transparent manner. In December, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $250-million policy-based loan to support the Indian government’s reforms that aim to improve and modernise the country’s logistics infrastructure, increase efficiency and reduce costs. The loan will fund the first sub-programme of the Strengthening Multi-modal and Integrated Logistics Ecosystem Programme. This will rationalise India’s high cost of logistics and reduce greenhouse gas emission, ADB said
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
Focus of India's FTAs is to secure certainty in market access: MoCI
In 2022, Indian government signed free trade agreements (FTA) with UAE and Australia and is actively engaged in bilateral FTA negotiations with the UK, Canada, the European Union (EU), and Israel, according to the year-end review of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI). The country’s focus is to secure certainty in market access and seek a regulatory environment which is transparent, objective, and least burdensome. This year, India’s FTAs with UAE and Australia were signed in February and April respectively. While the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) entered into force on May 1, 2022, the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) entered into force from today, i.e., December 29, 2022. India’s FTA with UAE will ensure commercially meaningful market access commitments by UAE in all important sub sectors and potential for UAE to be leveraged as a hub for exports to other countries especially in Gulf and African region, according to MoCI’s yearend review. Similarly, India-Australia FTA will ensure a wide variety of trade opportunities and benefits for both countries. India’s ongoing FTA negotiations with the UK cover areas such as goods, technical barriers to trade, sustainability, geographical indicators, among others. Political tensions in the UK and elections in key states in India slowed the talks. India is hoping to finalise the deal by March 2023. In terms of FTA negotiations with Canada, India aims to focus on the right deal that benefits both nations. India’s FTA with the EU will cover separate agreements on trade, investment, and geographical indicators. The FTA’s negotiating areas to include goods, customs, trade remedies, digital trade, government procurement, SMEs, among others. This FTA is expected to be concluded in the end of 2023 or early 2024.
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
The Indian rupee strengthened a bit on Thursday, as traders cited dollar sales by exporters, but strong gains were not expected amid the holiday lull and risk aversion in broader markets. The rupee was at 82.78 per dollar by 10:05 a.m. IST, having firmed up to 82.75. The currency closed at 82.8575 on Wednesday. Exporters holding their dollars are likely making sales as it is the end of the quarter, but due to the absence of a large number of market participants the moves would remain angebound, said a foreign exchange trader. The currency's intraday range should likely be 82.70-82.90, the trader added. The rupee has stayed on the weaker side of 82.50 for the past two weeks with moves confined to small ranges per session. Analysts believe it is an attempt to bring stability to the currency after a sharp depreciation earlier this month. Dollar offers by state-run banks around 82.85-82.90 levels over the period, which some traders reckon were on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India, have kept the rupee from weakening past 83 per dollar. It hit a record low of 83.29 in October. Meanwhile, gains on Thursday were also limited by the dollar index nudging higher to 104.360 and weakness in broader Asian markets as currencies and equities mostly fell. Markets are likely "digesting the fact that the initial stages of China re-opening will necessarily entail outbreaks in a thus-far cocooned population," Vishnu Varathan, head of economics and strategy at Mizuho Bank, wrote in a note. The speed at which the country has scrapped COVID rules has left its fragile health system overwhelmed, sparking concerns about the spread of the virus.
Source: Business Standard
Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: Vizianagaram is home to around 800 weavers who depend on handloom/khadi weaving. The Central Government’s Weaver Mudra Scheme has provided financial aid to nearly 370 weavers of Vizianagaram district in Andhra Pradesh in the last three years, as per a report by The New Indian Express (TNIE). The scheme launched by the Union Textile Ministry benefitted 121 weavers in the financial year 2022-2023 who were able to avail credit through Mudra loans for their working capital requirements. “I have received a loan of Rs 50,000 through WMS. I have bought raw material with this loan amount. Now I am paying loan in easy monthly instalments,” a handloom weaver from Vizianagaram, Dora Veeraju, told TNIE. Vizianagaram is home to around 800 weavers who depend on weaving handloom/khadi. Out of these 706 are eligible for the financial aid under Nethanna Nestham scheme, launched by the Andhra Pradesh government. Y.S.R. Nethanna Nestham scheme was aimed to provide Rs 24,000 per annum to every weaver family who owns a handloom to support them in modernizing their equipment and to compete with the power looms sector. Meanwhile, under the Weaver MUDRA Scheme, margin money assistance at 20 per cent of loan amount subject to a maximum of Rs 10,000 per weaver, loan at 6 per cent interest rate and credit guarantee for a period of three years is provided to handloom weavers/weaver entrepreneurs across the country, as per the Textile Ministry official release.
Source: Financial Express
Textile manufacturers and exporters of Karur on Thursday urged the Ministry of Textiles to set up a textile wet processing park in Karur. The demand was raised at the Karur Textile Manufacturer Expansion Association’s interactive session with Rohit Kansal, Additional Secretary, Textiles and Prajakta L. Verma, Joint Secretary, Textiles, New Delhi. A memorandum submitted to the official that there was a need to establish a Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP). The park should be set up in the same premises so that many the micro and small industries could come forward to set up their factories in the park. It would help to bring down the cost of wet process for the exporters, manufacturers and also become competitive in the world market. Similarly, the memorandum said that the Ministry of Textiles should come forward to establish an Integrated Textile Trade Facilitation Centre to market the products of Karur. The Karur cluster had been showing tremendous growth over the years. It had resulted into the demand for skilled workers. Taking into various aspects and challenges of exporters in Karur, the Ministry should meet all the demands of the association so as to achieve ₹25,000 crore sales turn over by 2030. M. Natchimuthu, P. Gopalakrishnan, and S. Sivakumar, functionaries of the association, spoke.
Source: The Hindu
"We are keeping a close watch on exports of all these products. We are monitoring the situation to take appropriate decisions, though the situation at present is not alarming. We should be prepared for everything and for that our domestic requirement should be ready," the official said. The government has started close monitoring of exports of products used to deal with Covid infections such as PPE kits, masks, ventilators and certain medicines like paracetamol on account of rising infections in various countries, including China, an official said. The move is aimed at dealing with any possible emergency situation on account of a spurt in coronavirus cases. "We are keeping a close watch on exports of all these products. We are monitoring the situation to take appropriate decisions, though the situation at present is not alarming. We should be prepared for everything and for that our domestic requirement should be ready," the official said. We have started collecting data on a daily basis for monitoring purposes for products like PPE kits, syringes, gloves, certain medicines like Remdesivir and paracetamol," the official added. The issue came up at a recently held inter-ministerial preparatory meeting attended by senior officials from different ministries including commerce, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, health, and textiles. In 2020, to deal with the outbreak of the pandemic, the government had imposed restrictions and prohibitions on exports of products such as PPE kits, sanitisers, gloves, testing kits, syringes, Remdesivir and formulations made from paracetamol. Official sources on Wednesday cautioned that the next 40 days will be crucial as India may see a Covid surge in January. As Covid gets back on the radar with a surge in China and people worry about another wave in India, some scientists have called for a reality check. The government has already sounded an alert and asked states and Union Territories to prepare for any eventuality. Following the surge, the government made random coronavirus testing mandatory for two per cent of passengers arriving in each international flight from Saturday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya have held meetings to assess the country's preparedness to deal with a fresh surge in cases. Mock drills were held at health facilities across India on Tuesday to check operational readiness to deal with any spurt in COVID-19 infection, with Mandaviya saying the country has to remain alert and prepared as cases are rising in the world. The latest spike in cases is being driven by Omicron sub-variant BF.7. China has been witnessing thousands of cases daily in the last few weeks. On Wednesday, India logged 188 new coronavirus infections with a daily positivity rate of 0.14 per cent and the weekly positivity rate recorded at 0.18 per cent, the Union Health Ministry has said.
Source: Economic Times
KARACHI: Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association (PYMA) on Thursday urged the government to design policies that could help in promoting industrialisation, appealing to PM Shehbaz Sharif to take measures for addressing a declining trend in the textile exports. The prime minister should consider legitimate demands of the textile industry to save it from a crisis, PYMA senior vice chairman Sohail Nisar said. “The textile exports reduced for the second consecutive month in November while direct investment is also seen decreasing more than 50 percent,” he said citing data released by the Institute of Statistics Pakistan. Textile exports dropped by 18.15 percent to $1.42 billion, from $1.736 billion in the same month last year. The exports declined by 5.1 percent from July to November, decreasing $7.36 billion in the same period of the fiscal year 2022, compared to $ 7.76 billion, he added. PYMA vice chairman said supply chain issues, capital and energy shortage, difficulties in importing of raw materials, including industrial machinery, had intensified a crisis for the textile industry. “The productive activities of the textile industry have been halved and if the crisis continues, it is feared that the monthly exports of textile next month will be less than $1 billion.” The government should take effective steps to get the textile industry out of the crisis so that the industries continue to operate and the completion of export orders could be ensured in a timely manner, Nisar urged.
Source: International News
The United States has long been Pakistan’s largest export market – importing more than $5 billion Pakistani goods that is surpassing any other country and we want bilateral economic relations to be further strengthened by inviting Pakistani businessmen to visit the US and get an advantage of the United States expertise in different sectors. This was stated by Syed Jawad Hussain Kazmi, President Khyber Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI), during his meeting on trade-ties between Pakistan and the US with Panfilo Marquez, US Consul General at Peshawar, and Kurt L. Beurman, Political and Economic Affairs Officer. The delegation of Khyber Chamber of Commerce & Industry held an hour-long meeting and thoroughly discussed Pakistan-US trade ties and the exchange of visits of Pakistani businessmen to US to have business-to-business meetings with different US companies for extending trading ties and to get benefits from the US expertise. Executive members of KCCI Muhammad Yousaf Afridi, Moin Uddin Khan and Muhammad Haroon Sabir were also present at the meeting. The main products that Pakistan exports to the United States are house linens, knitted sweaters, and other clothing articles. During the last 25 years, the export of Pakistan to the United States has increased at an annualized rate of 4.79%, from $1.26b in 1995 to $4.04b in 2020. The United States is also one of the top trading partners of Pakistan. Trade and investment relations between the United States and Pakistan continue to grow, and the US government supports this relationship by organizing business-to-business trade delegations, providing technical assistance, and promoting business opportunities for U.S. companies to develop US-Pakistan commercial partnerships. Both sides also talked about boosting cooperation in lubricant, energy, agriculture, textile and healthcare sectors as well as promotion of digital trade and e-commerce. Protection of intellectual property, promotion of laborer’ rights and economic empowerment of women also came under discussion. However, Pakistan’s business climate has areas that need to be strengthened, including regulation, intellectual property protection, and taxation. The United States continues to work with Pakistan to achieve business climate enhancements. Syed Jawad Hussain Kazmi pledged to strengthen trade ties and business to-business contacts to enhance the bilateral trade volume. The US diplomat assured Jawad Kazmi, President KCCI, and his delegation to remove all obstacles in visit of Pakistani businessmen and investors to the US besides a guideline would also be provided to other leading businessmen and companies who want to strengthen and expand business, trade and investment ties. The delegation of KCCI thanked Panfilo Marquez, US Consul General at Peshawar, and Kurt L. Beurman for efforts to support and help the businessmen in expanding trade and investment ties with the US and taking advantage of available business opportunities.
Source: The Nation
Cambodia’s apparel exports to Australia increased by 17.16 per cent to $102.583 million in the first nine months of the current year. To a great extent, the growth was fuelled by the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the 15-nation multilateral free trade agreement of which both are members, that came into effect from January this year. RCEP has provided easier access between member countries as it gives duty free access to almost 90 per cent of goods. Cambodia is textile-apparel exporter country, while Australia is an importer and a developed economy. Cambodia’s apparel export to Australia increased 17.16 per cent to $102.583 million in January-September 2022 from $87.557 million in the corresponding period of last year. The shipment fell 20.03 per cent to $71.745 million in January-September 2020 due to COVID disruption from $89.710 million of same period of 2019, according to Fibre2Fashion’s market insight tool TexPro. Australia’s share in total apparel export of Cambodia is mere one per cent. It shows the weakness of trade linkage in the region. Cambodia exported apparel worth $10.278 billion in January-September 2022 and the US was top importer with a share of 34.93 per cent, as per TexPro. This shows that Cambodia is still in the process of translating its geographical proximity with Australia into higher trade.
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
China has witnessed soaring trade with other members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in the past 11 months, with trade with RCEP partners accounting for more than one-third of China's total foreign trade, official data showed on Thursday. The RCEP, which took effect on January 1, has become a powerful support for China's foreign trade, and it plays a leading role in the recovery of the global economy, Chinese observers said. They predicted that China will continue to play an important locomotive role for the recovery of global trade. Trade between China and other RCEP members hit 11.8 trillion yuan ($1.69 trillion) from January to November, a year-on-year increase of 7.9 percent and accounting for 30.7 percent of China's total foreign trade, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). China's exports to other RCEP members reached 6 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.7 percent, faster than the overall growth rate of exports by 5.8 percentage points. The MOFCOM will continue to work with relevant departments to promote the highquality implementation of the RCEP and other free trade agreements, said Shu Jueting, a spokesperson for the MOFCOM. The RCEP, encompassing roughly one-third of the world's GDP, includes China and over a dozen other countries. Its launch earlier this year marks a milestone for regional and global economic cooperation as well as China's expanding trade profile. "More agricultural products from ASEAN countries are entering the Chinese market since the RCEP came into effect," Wang Zhengbo, chairman of TWT, a Guangxi-based crossborder trade and supply chain operator, told the Global Times on Thursday. According to Wang, in the past, the company imported durians from Malaysia and Thailand, but now, durians from Vietnam also can enter China thanks to the RCEP, which put many RCEP members' fruit crops on the access list. Tariffs on fruits exported to Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea have been reduced to zero or close to zero. "Our trucks between China and Vietnam are getting busier, rising from previously dozens of trucks in the Spring Festival holidays to 1,000 or 2,000 now," he added. With the help of an Electronic World Trade Platform, the first batch of Cambodian longan fruit arrived at Shanghai port on December 9 and was available via an e-commerce platform on December 12, according to a note AliExpress, the global retail online marketplace under Alibaba Group, sent to the Global Times on Thursday. With the implementation of the RCEP, more farm products from ASEAN countries are entering China, AliExpress said. Multinationals remain optimistic over the Chinese market, with more than 90 percent of surveyed firms from RCEP members seeking to expand trade with China, according to a survey conducted by HSBC in November of this year. The survey said that 82 percent of firms expect growth for their businesses in China in the next year, and 93 percent expect more trade with China, with the RCEP unleashing potential. "The RCEP has become a big support for China's foreign trade, and it plays a leading role in the recovery of the global economy and the restoration of confidence," Song Wei, a professor at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Thursday. The RCEP has been in effect for less than one year, and there is still huge potential to be unleashed in trade, technology, infrastructure, capital and management, Zhou Shixin, director of the Institute for Foreign Policy Studies at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, told the Global Times on Thursday. The MOFCOM said that it will take the RCEP as a new starting point to negotiate and sign more free trade agreements.
Source: Global Times
• The International Monetary Fund now projects that global GDP growth will slow from 6% in 2021 to 3.2% in 2022 and 2.7% in 2023. • Speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Tuesday, Lacalle said the potential for a full reopening of the Chinese economy was “the biggest positive” that markets could expect for 2023. The global economy likely faces a decade of sluggish growth, according to Daniel Lacalle, author and chief economist at Tressis Gestion. Economies around the world have been grappling with a multitude of shocks — from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to China’s persistent zero-Covid measures — that have sent inflation soaring and weakened activity. The International Monetary Fund now projects that global GDP growth will slow from 6% in 2021 to 3.2% in 2022 and 2.7% in 2023. The Fund characterized this as “the weakest growth profile since 2001 except for the global financial crisis and the acute phase of the Covid-19 pandemic.” Meanwhile, global inflation is forecast to rise from 4.7% in 2021 to 8.8% this year before declining to 6.5% in 2023 and to 4.1% by 2024, remaining above the target levels for many major central banks. China offered some solace to economists and market participants on Tuesday, when it officially announced the end of quarantine requirements for inbound travelers on Jan. 8 — symbolizing an end to the zero-Covid policy that it has held for nearly three years. Speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Tuesday, Lacalle said the potential for a full reopening of the Chinese economy was “the biggest positive” that markets could expect for 2023. “We have been looking at a very bleak picture for the Chinese economy, which is essential not just for the growth of the rest of the world but particularly for Latin America and also for Africa,” he said. “The reopening of the Chinese economy is certainly going to give a significant boost to growth all over the world, but also — and I think it is a very important factor — German exporters, French exporters have felt the pinch of the lockdown and the weakening of the profit environment in China, and this is certainly going to help a lot.” However, he suggested that this boost will not come close to bringing growth levels close to where they were in the years before the pandemic for a good while to come. “I think that we are probably going to move into a decade of very, very poor growth in which developed economies are going to find themselves lucky with 1% growth per annum, if they are able to achieve it, and what is more unfortunate than everything else is with elevated levels of inflation,” Lacalle said. “I think that we are living the backlash of massive stimulus packages that were implemented in 2020 and 2021. That has not delivered the kind of potential growth that many economists expected.” Yet despite the bleak outlook, he emphasized that there is not a crisis on the horizon. “I think that markets are starting to price that environment in which the situation globally is not of a buoyant level of growth and economic development, but [is] one that avoids a financial crisis, and if that happens, it is certainly positive,” he concluded.
Source: CNBC
Japan's economy is likely to recover, with the impact of COVID-19 and supply-side constraints waning, although it is expected to be under downward pressure stemming from high commodity prices and slowdowns in overseas economies, according to the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) December 2022 statement on monetary policy. Uncertainties are extremely high for Japan's economy. Thereafter, as a virtuous cycle from income to spending intensifies gradually, Japan's economy is projected to continue growing at a pace above its potential growth rate, the statement said. "The year-on-year rate of change in the consumer price index (CPI of all items less fresh food) is likely to increase towards the end of this year due to rises in prices of such items as energy, food and durable goods. "The rate of increase is then expected to decelerate toward the middle of fiscal 2022-23 as the contribution of such price rises to this CPI is likely to wane. "Thereafter, it is projected to accelerate again moderately on the back of improvement in the output gap and rises in medium- to long-term inflation expectations and in wage growth," BOJ said. High uncertainties remain in developments in overseas economic activity and prices; in commodity prices; and the course of COVID-19 at home and abroad and its impact. In this situation, it is necessary to pay due attention to developments in financial and foreign exchange markets and their impact on Japan's economic activity and prices, the statement by the central bank suggests.
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
