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The next three to four months would be tough for India’s merchandise exports and a return to growth will depend on recovery in major markets like US and Europe, according to people tracking trade. They also feel that, any significant improvement in demand conditions in the key markets may not materialise before the end of this financial year. The view in the trade circles is somewhat at variance with the recent statements by government officials that by September, the outbound shipments will turn around, as stocks with overseas buyers would have dried up by then.“World exports are going through a tough time and the government is taking various steps to deal with that. Return to growth in exports would greatly depend on economic growth recovery in the US and Europe,” professor at Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations Arpita Mukherjee said.“June exports may not be that great but exports will be in positive territory in July-September quarter as the global economy improves with inflation falling and financial tightening easing,” Director General and Chief Executive Officer of Federation of Indian Export Organisations Ajay Sahai said. In April-May, the first two months of this financial year, exports were down 11.41% on year to $69.72 billion dollars. He said that the last two quarters of 2023-24 could see export growth rising and for the full year 10% year-on-year growth is expected. In value terms merchandise exports may touch $ 490-500 billion. However, former vice-chancellor at Indian Institute of foreign Trade Manoj Pant feels that this financial year the merchandise exports would contract as compared to last year as the windfall of the last two years offered by the Ukraine war in terms of cheaper crude oil and markets for agricultural products like wheat fades away. The Ukraine war started in February 2022 and in the financial year 2022-23 the exports grew an unprecedented 44.62% on year to touch $422 billion. The war enabled sourcing of cheaper crude oil from Russia and the displacement caused in the markets for agriculture products enabled India to export from its accumulated wheat stocks. The World Trade Organisation has forecast 1.7 % growth in global merchandise trade volume, down from 2.7% in 2022 and 9.4% in 2021. The high growth in 2021 came after a contraction of 5.1% in world trade in 2020, the pandemic year. So trade is facing major headwinds all over the world. The petroleum product and engineering goods which account for 45% of total exports have contracted during the first two months of the financial year. Only positive sectors for exports are electronic goods, pharma and rice. Sahai said fall in crude oil prices has led to a 6% drop in exports in value terms in April-May. He said for labour incentive sectors of export like garments the US market is still showing growth, the only concern is Europe. “Orders are still coming from Europe but they are 30% down in value terms,” Sahai said. Pant said trade would not be adding much to the country’s GDP but the opening emerging in the electronic and mobile phones sector should be utilised to shift some of the supply chains to India. “If we manage to get 10% of the supply chains from China to shift to India then going to 25% is not too difficult,” he said. “Smartphone exports from India began last year and in 2022-23 they stood at $10.96 billion. In April itself smartphone exports increased 114% on year to $ 1.06 billion,” according to a senior Commerce and Industry Ministry official. Pant said if infrastructure, logistics and other ecosystems including manpower availability can handle the shift of supply chains over the next two-three years then India can emerge as a trading power. “The reverse of it is also true. India missed joining the value chain for garments some 20-25 years back. It must draw the benefits of shifting supply chains to itself.” He also suggested using the global political environment also to engineer the shift of supply chains to India. Mukherjee said that the deals that are being talked about and may be signed during the ongoing visit of the PM to the US can also help India become part of global high-technology trade. She said some part of the exports are not being captured in the reported data and could add another $5-6 billion to total exports. Mukherjee also stressed on also providing benefits to exports by express cargo and removal of Rs 10 lakh limit on a single consignment that can be exported through courier. Exports through traditional channels and e-commerce get export incentives but goods sent by express courier do not. “The limits on value on every consignment acts as an export barrier, nowhere in the world it happens.For a large order exporters have to make multiple consignments that adds to costs,”, Mukherjee said. She commended the FTA policy of the government and said that small and medium enterprises should be trained for export markets.
Source: Financial express
The India-US economic and strategic partnership has seen significant progress in recent years. In FY 2023, the US became India’s largest trade partner for merchandise goods, resulting in a total bilateral trade value of US$128.78 billion. This partnership has been further enhanced by shared strategic policies spanning the Indo-Pacific to West Asia. Both countries prioritize technological advancement, innovation, resilient supply chains, and inclusive, sustainable growth. Indian Prime Minister Modi’s upcoming visit to the US, scheduled for June 21-23, 2023, is expected to facilitate crucial discussions over a wide range of topics, including defense and security cooperation, advancements in technology sectors such as telecom, semiconductors, and mobility, civil-nuclear cooperation, space exploration, collaboration in higher education, artificial intelligence, quantum technology, and counter-narcotics efforts. In recent years, the India-US strategic partnership has consolidated further. The trade relations between the two have expanded exponentially, with bilateral trade hitting a record US$191 billion in two-way goods and services trade in 2022 and the US emerging as the top destination for India’s merchandise exports in FY 2023. The year 2022 was rewarding for both democracies, which saw the forging of significant new partnerships, including the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), and the consolidation of existing ones, such as I2U2, Quad, etc. Tangible outcomes included the resolution of market access issues, the Quad focus on STEM, the signing of an Investment Incentive Agreement, the launch of Technology Innovation Hubs as a collaboration of the respective science agencies, a record level of trade and investments, etc. This year kicked off with the successful conclusion of the 13 th Ministerial Meeting of the India-US Trade Policy Forum (TPF). It must be noted that this forum lay dormant for four years until a relaunch in November 2021. Experts and diplomats forecast that the future of India-US ties will determine the future of technology and innovation. With India holding the G20 presidency in 2023, the IndiaUS partnership is further likely to intensify to achieve global growth objectives that are inclusive, sustainable, and focus on critical and emerging technologies, resilient supply chains, and climate action.
PM Modi’s visit to the US in June 2023: What’s on the agenda? Prime Minister Narendra Modi has embarked on his inaugural official state visit to the United States, commencing on Tuesday, June 21. The visit entails a series of events, including the celebration of Yoga Day at the United Nations headquarters in New York, attendance at a state dinner hosted by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, delivering an address to the US Congress, engaging with the Indian diaspora, and more. Notably, Prime Minister Modi is the first Indian leader to address the Joint Session of the US Congress twice, with the second address scheduled for June 22. The primary objectives of Prime Minister Modi’s visit are to foster engagement with business leaders, connect with the Indian community, and interact with thought leaders from various fields. The focus lies on deepening bilateral ties between India and the US across key sectors, including trade, commerce, innovation, and technology. Expectations are high for significant announcements, particularly in the areas of defense cooperation and the sharing of advanced technology. According to officials cited in a Reuters report, discussions will encompass cooperation in sectors such as semiconductors, cyberspace, aerospace, strategic infrastructure and communication, commercial space projects, quantum computing, and the utilization of artificial intelligence in industrial and defense applications. Moreover, the approval for the establishment of engine manufacturing capabilities in India, such as General Electric’s production of the GE-F414 jet engine for domestically manufactured fighter jets in partnership with Hindustan Aeronautics, is anticipated. Furthermore, India is on the verge of finalizing a procurement deal worth US$3 billion with General Atomics for 31 armed MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones. These developments underscore the business-oriented aspects of Modi’s visit and demonstrate the expansion of India-US strategic partnership in the defense and technology sectors.
India-US collaboration and investments to boost semiconductor manufacturing in India Just prior to the visit, Reuters reported on June 20 that India had given its approval to Micron to set up a semiconductor assembly testing marking and packaging (ATMP) unit (also called OSAT) in the state of Gujarat. Micron will qualify for production-linked incentives worth US$1.34 billion (INR 110 billion). A key strategic outcome of the visit will involve further facilitation of the establishment of a robust semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem in India. Two prominent American companies are set to launch a significant initiative focused on workforce training. This initiative aims to equip a considerable number of Indian engineers with the essential skills required in the semiconductor field. These collaborative efforts will greatly contribute to the growth and advancement of India’s semiconductor industry.
India-US trade disputes nearing resolution on the sidelines of Modi’s US visit India and the US are currently engaged in advanced discussions for an out-of-court settlement to resolve seven trade disputes that have been pending at the World Trade Organization (WTO), as reported by Livemint. This development coincides with Modi’s US visit. The pursuit of an out-of-court settlement stems from the dysfunctionality of the WTO’s top court, the Dispute Settlement Body, caused by the US blocking the appointment of judges. The US has raised systemic concerns about the appeals court within the WTO, prompting the exploration of alternative dispute resolution methods. This holds particular significance as the settlement talks address a longstanding dispute involving the imposition of a steep 25 percent tariff on Indian steel and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum exports by former US President Donald Trump in 2018, which triggered trade tensions between the two nations. One of the primary points of contention between India and the US was India’s export subsidy programs, including schemes such as the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS), Export Oriented Units Scheme, and various sector-specific schemes like Electronics Hardware Technology Park Scheme, Special Economic Zones, and Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme. The US contended that these subsidy programs offered financial advantages to Indian exporters, enabling them to sell goods at lower prices, which, according to the US, negatively affected American workers and manufacturers. This alleged violation of WTO norms, which prohibit subsidies that distort global trade, formed the basis of the dispute between the two countries. The efforts to reach an out-of-court settlement demonstrate the willingness of both India and the US to find mutually agreeable solutions to trade disputes, particularly in light of the current challenges faced by the WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism. Resolving these disputes would help alleviate trade tensions and foster a more harmonious economic relationship between India and the US.
India-US TPF to focus on deepening trade and economic engagement The India-US TPF aims to activate its working groups in the fields of agriculture, nonagriculture goods, services, investment, and intellectual property to address issues of mutual concern and deliver tangible benefits to both countries by resolving unresolved market access issues. In the forum’s 13 th meeting, India and the US underlined their eagerness to deepen bilateral trade and economic ties at the recently concluded ministerial meeting of the TPF. During this meeting, both nations emphasized the significance of the forum in fostering robust bilateral trade ties and enhancing the bilateral economic partnership. In the meeting, India and the US jointly established a new working group on “Resilient Trade” to advance bilateral discussion on a variety of topics that can improve the trade relationship, such as trade facilitation, helping workers, and fostering sustainable and inclusive growth, as well as common sustainability challenges like securing sustainable finance, scaling up innovative clean technologies, and adopting circular economy strategies. Both countries also welcomed the finalization of the Turtle Excluder Device (TED) design. This collaboration for expediting the TED trials will ensure that the TEDs are effective in minimizing the impact of fishing on sea turtle populations and restoring market access for India’s export of wild-caught shrimp. Additionally, during the meeting, India also highlighted its interest in the restoration of its beneficiary status under the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, which the US agreed to consider.
India-US bilateral trade: Trends and outlook The US is currently positioned as India’s largest trading partner with respect to merchandise trade, accounting for 11.98 percent of India’s total merchandise trade. As per US Census data, India-US merchandise trade in calendar year 2022 reached US$123.48 billion, up from US$113 billion in 2021. In FY 2023, India and the United States achieved a notable milestone in their bilateral trade by surpassing a record value of US$128.78 billion, representing the highest figure to date. This marks the second consecutive year where the US has emerged as India’s largest trading partner. In FY 2022, the total bilateral trade between the two nations amounted to US$119.42 billion, with India’s exports to the US dominating imports. Modi’s upcoming state visit to the US highlights the mutual intent of India and the US to enhance their collaboration in crucial sectors including defense, clean energy, technology, and space. This visit signifies a strong dedication to furthering joint efforts and forging stronger bonds between the two nations. According to Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry for India, the India-US partnership is expected to evolve multifold in the upcoming years, and the bilateral trade in goods and services between both countries is anticipated to reach US$500–600 billion by 2030.
Source: The India-briefing
India has scripted a history in exports in the last two years both in terms of growth rate and absolute numbers with the shipments reaching at worth USD 500 billion in 2020-21 and USD 776 billion in 2022-23, senior BJP leader and Union Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday. India under Prime Minister Modi has continued to maintain a "robust economy" despite the global challenges of "depression, recession and inflation", to name a few, Goyal said. India is standing firm and is realising "record exports" at a time when the economies of even the developed countries are in a struggling situation, the Union Commerce and Industry Minister added. "India has scripted history in exports in the last two years both in terms of growth rate as well as absolute numbers. It is our resolve to increase India's export to worth 2 trillion dollars by 2030," he told reporters while highlighting the achievements of the nine years of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government at a press conference at the BJP headquarters. The Modi government is working towards making India a 35 trillion dollaralong with taking care of India's heritage, and destroying the "mindset of slavery", he added. Replying to questions at the press conference, the Union minister said India's import from China increased by 33 times in ten years of the erstwhile Congress-led UPA government and reached nearly worth USD 45 billion from "perhaps 1.5 billion dollars" in 2004. "We don't know what MoU Congress leader had signed (with China) ...India's own industry kept on dying one after another in those ten years due to this," he charged. Goyal said that the Modi government has kept both import and export open with China as per the World Trade Organisation's rules. Over the nine years, the Modi government has taken several efforts to give a boost to various industries in India to increase indigenous production and reduce India's dependence on other countries, he said. "Through quality control order, we will be able to stop cheap and substandard products that come from other countries including China, and our consumers will get good quality products," he added. The Commerce Minister said India has emerged as a robust economy under Prime Minister Modi's leadership. "Many Fortune 500 companies want to come to India in the manufacturing sector, service sector and open R&D centres here for which the commerce and industry ministry is extending them complete support," he said. Under the leadership of PM Modi, Goyal said India has realised her potential and capabilities in the last nine years in ensuring 'Seva, Sushasan and Garib Kalyan' (service, good governance and welfare of poor). The Modi government's "consistent efforts" have resulted in the transformation of the country through empowering the poor, youth, women and downtrodden, he added. "Lakhs of people have been trained under the Samarth scheme in the field of textiles and technical textiles. I am happy to inform you that in technical textiles, out of 11 lakh beneficiaries who have been trained so far, 74 per cent have got jobs. Of these, 73 per cent were women," he added. Goyal, who also holds food, consumer affairs and public distribution portfolio, said there was a time when the sugarcane farmers were in trouble as they did not get the price of sugarcane for months and "sometimes even years"."The way Modi ji gave importance to the sugar sector and sugarcane farmers, facilitated their work and also added ethanol. This saved our foreign exchange, reduced the import of crude petroleum and reduced pollution," he said.
Source: Economic times
Paris-headquartered defence conglomerate, Thales Group, said that India presents a significant market opportunity across various business segments at the Paris Air Show, world's largest air show, which alternates with Farnborough in Britain, is at Le Bourget for the first time in four years after the 2021 edition fell victim to the pandemic. Pascale Sourisse, Senior Executive Vice President, International Development at Thales said that India presents a significant market opportunity across various business segments, including civil aviation, digital identity, security, and satellites. In an exclusive interview with ANI, Sourisse said, "500 Aircraft order from Indigo Airlines is a clear demonstration that the Indian market is booming. So for us, India represents a huge market opportunity for all our business segments, the fans, see civil aviation, digital identity and security and satellites." Talking to ANI, Sourisse said that this order from Indigo is a clear demonstration that the Indian market is booming and that there are huge players in India. Sourisse highlighted India's robust economic growth, surpassing 6 percent, which is remarkable for a large country. She expressed enthusiasm about the prospects this growth offers to Thales. Sourisse further stated, "The aircraft orders by AirIndia and Indigo show that the civil aviation sector is growing and Thales is involved directly in civil aviation. First of all, we are a supplier of avionics solutions to Airbus and directly to airlines we supply inflight entertainment and connectivity solutions." "So these announcements about very large orders are good signs that there are new opportunities that we can address. In addition to that, another sector that Thales is working in is the air traffic management domain. Air traffic management, obviously, will have new requirements since the number of aircraft is doing to the number of aircraft is going to vary significantly increase," she added. Thales' Senior Executive Vice President said that they had already decided that India was a very strategic country for the group. So Thales has started to deploy competencies in India. "Our presence in India is 70 years old. Our first experience in the country was in 1953 in the radar domain, and since then, we have expanded. We are about 2000 people today. Development of the civil aviation sector in India also demonstrates that it's a good idea for us to continue to expand in India and grow our presence." she said.
Source: Economic times
Secretaries and senior officials from across ministries met on June 17 to discuss ways to fast-track rollout of projects and to draw up a road map for swift delivery under various government schemes, the finance ministry said on Monday. The brain-storming session, called 'Chintan Shivir', was chaired by cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba. It saw deliberations on the capital expenditure from the Budget and such spending by various central public sector enterprises (CPSEs), with focus on their internal and extra-budgetary resources. Several large schemes, announced in the Budget for FY24, were also discussed. "The objective of the Chintan Shivir was to share insights and learnings on successful implementation of projects and schemes, discuss challenges and help ministries draw up a roadmap for timely and effective delivery onground," the ministry tweeted. The brain-storming session comes at a time when the government has sought to improve the quality of budgetary spending by enhancing focus on capital expenditure.
Source: Economic times
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Gainsborough and AO Textiles collaborate to offer a unique service combining a natural dye color consultancy with bespoke jacquard woven textile production. Together they have developed techniques that revive heritage alongside modern production methods; in particular, the use of natural plant-based colors for contemporary textile production. All production, from dyeing the yarn to weaving the fabric, is done in-house. The partnership has established that color sourced from sustainable botanicals, including madder, weld and chestnut, can play a part in circular 21st century textile production, making an environmentally conscious move away from the synthetic petroleum-based colors common in textile manufacture today. The fabrics are created using naturally derived color that are scalable, repeatable, and of the quality demanded by industry.
The plants include : WELD — creates bright yellows as seen in the palette color but can also be used to create light and dark green. CHESTNUT — Chestnut produces a range of soft brown colors. The chestnut extract they source is from Occitanie and is produced sustainably by KINGTREE, in the HautLanguedoc Regional Natural Park. The dye is obtained from natural regrowth of chestnut wood (Castanea sativa Mill). Vegetable tannins (ellagic tannins) are extracted using wood water and concentration, therefore in a closed loop without water consumption or effluents. A good example of co-recovery since the extracted wood is then used to manufacture building biomaterials. MADDER — is sourced from the roots of the madder plant and creates anything from a dark rusty red to subtle pale pinks. LOGWOOD — The heartwood of Haematoxylum campechianum. Logwood can be used to create a variety of colors from deep, rich, red-purples to orchid blues. The colors include Campeche, Luteola, Rubea, Pale Rubea and Casteneda. The partnership will be launched at the Sustainable Angle Future Fabrics Expo in London from June 26-28, 2023.
About Sustainability All aspects of textile production; from the replacement of synthetic color with natural dyes to sustainably sourced silk yarn, obtained through an environmentally friendly process that does not involve the use of pesticides and plays a key role in supporting rural communities. Certified by Oeko-tex Standard 100 certification. The AO textiles dyeing process received the stamp of approval from Greenpeace International’s Detox Fashion Campaign in 2013. Using 100-percen sustainably sourced Oeko-tex Standard 100, Class I-IV natural dyes, which are compliant with the requirements of the ZDHC Manufacturing Restricted Substances List V2.0. Additionally, mordants and dyes are GOTS certified. The exhaustion process employed in the dye house reduces wastewater and dye to negligible levels. Excess heat from steam pipes is channeled via a heat exchanger into the drying cupboard to dry yarn using no additional energy. Production has been reduced to almost zero waste as all fabric is made to order. Any yarn that is not woven is donated to recycling charities and to students. Gainsborough fabrics are designed with longevity in mind and often exceed their expected life span of 25 years.
Source: Textile world
Pulcra Chemicals and Inditex develop Sustineri Coloring, a combined pretreatment and dyeing process for cotton and polyester/cotton resulting in water, time and energy savings. This process is the result of a joint research between Pulcra Chemicals and Inditex with the goal to mitigate the impact of standard dyeing processes and to reduce the use of natural resources. Sustineri Coloring is based on newly engineered process chemicals which allow a one bath pretreatment and dyeing process for dark, medium and light shades of cotton and polyester/cotton fabrics by exhaust method. This results in shorter processing time and less use of water and energy. The process is already used by selected mills and it showed that Sustineri Coloring is reducing in pretreatment and dyeing the processing time by up to 60 percent and the water and energy consumption by up to 80 and 60 percent respectively. The state-of-the-art products allow a one bath treatment which is the key in saving resources. “We are incredibly proud to work together with Inditex, one of the world’s largest fashion retailers,” said Ümit Yaldiz, CEO of Pulcra Chemicals Group. “This partnership is a significant step toward realizing our ambition of bringing environmentally friendly solutions to the worldwide textile market.”
Source: Textile world
A developer of sustainable, on-demand digital fashion and textile production technologies — announced today the company successfully concluded its exhibition at ITMA 2023, experiencing high volumes of engagement with new customers from key regions, such as India, Turkey, China, Central and South America. Hundreds of customers and prospects were immersed in demonstrations of Kornit’s innovative on-demand fulfillment portfolio. Driven by industry demand to accelerate timeto-market, create agile inventory management, and achieve the highest levels of sustainability, brands and retailers are now squarely focused on digitally transforming analog supply chains using proven Kornit technologies. As the industry reaches this anticipated inflection point, Kornit is firmly established as the partner-of-choice to power a shift from analog to sustainable on-demand production with maximum quality. “Our firm strategy is to bring sustainable digital on-demand production to the mainstream, and our presence at ITMA Milan made clear this moment has arrived,” said Ronen Samuel, CEO at Kornit Digital. “Digitizing end-to-end fulfillment helps brands and suppliers take control of the supply chain, stabilize and scale operations, create winning consumer experiences, and make textiles a cleaner, more responsible industry. These trends point to even greater innovations to come from Kornit.” With its industry-first vibrant new NeoPigment™ Vivido digital inks, the enhanced Kornit Presto MAXhad a strong reception at ITMA. Also taking center stage was the much anticipated Kornit Apollo platform, which delivers on the industry need for automated, highthroughput digital on-demand garment decoration at scale. Built on tested Kornit MAX technology, the Apollo effectively brings sustainable digital production to the mainstream. “Our Apollo system was welcomed at ITMA by an industry now realizing that digital is the only solution for making fashion and textile production sustainable, producing closer to the end consumer, eliminating problematic inventory, and delivering the highest quality without sacrificing profitability,” said Omer Kulka, chief innovation officer at Kornit Digital. “Mainstream digital production is being fully embraced to preserve and grow business channels in a digitally transforming world. Our success at ITMA 2023 clearly demonstrates that Kornit is the industry leader offering the only proven solution for companies to navigate stringent sustainability mandates, align supply with demand, and increase margins under any conditions.”
Source: Textile world
