A year after implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the system is getting streamlined for the intended purpose of achieving the objective of ‘One nation one tax’. In the excise regime, multiple tax systems had increased administrative costs for manufacturers and distributors. With GST in place, the compliance burden has eased. GST brought in developments and changed the way businesses conducted themselves. It is commendable on the part of the GST Council to arrive at decisions on a consistent basis, despite differences of opinion among various sectors and political parties. The textile sector is one of the oldest and largest in the country and a major contributor to the development of the economy. The industry employs both skilled and unskilled manpower and contributes over 10% of the total annual exports of the country, which is likely to increase under the GST regime.
Tax burden declines
Many from the textile industry have stated that the overall tax burden has come down for the sector to 18% from 20% and that the new system has also increased transparency in the sector, which provides employment to 45 million people. A majority of the Indian industry functions in the unorganised sector or the composition scheme, creating a gap in the flow of input tax credit (ITC). If a registered taxpayer procures the input from taxpayers under the composition scheme or the unorganised sector, ITC will not be allowed for him. With the implementation of GST, the input credit system has smoothly shifted the balance towards the organised sector. By subsuming different taxes such as entry tax, luxury tax and octroi, the costs for manufacturers will be reduced in the textile industry. For textile mills, the import cost of the latest technology to manufacture textile goods is expensive because the excise duty paid for the same was not allowed in ITC. Under GST, ITC is available for all the tax paid on capital goods. The process of claiming ITC is simplified in GST, which allows the textile sector to be competitive in the export market. Expectations are high on three counts. First, yarn now attracts 5% GST and the machinery to manufacture yarn attracts 18%. This is uneven. Yarn manufacturers will be left with a huge input credit which they won’t be able to utilise. There is no provision under GST to get such accumulated credit as refund for capital goods. This will contribute to dead investment for the textile industry over several years. Second, a foreign manufacturing company is now permitted to set up a unit without any investment from the domestic market, bring in 100% of their share, and repatriate profit to their countries. This has made the domestic textile machinery manufacturing companies to compete in an unfavourable environment. To safeguard the domestic industry’s interest, government should create a level-playing field which will pave the way for ‘Make in India’ to prosper. It also keeps domestic industries healthy and facilitates a healthy employment environment. Also, more incentives must be given to the textile sector to help explore the export market at competitive prices. Finally, a simplified procedure is needed in the e-way bill legislation to ease transportation of goods by minimising documentation, physical verification and the like.
Source: The Hindu
New Delhi : In order to attract more investments in the textile sector of the state, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has given his nod to the final draft of textile policy in the state. The Gujarat government’s last textile policy was unveiled in 2012 and it expired last year. For the last one year, delegates from textile industry had been meeting and making representations to the state government to frame a new textile policy.According to the new policy, huge incentives in taxes and power tariffs will be given to the sector by the government. Through the new policy, the government has also aimed at generation of more jobs in the state. In this regard, a high-level meeting of senior government officials and representatives of the textile industry was chaired by chief minister Rupani in Gandhinagar. State government wanted to announce new textile policy before the upcoming vibrant Gujarat summit, Rupani said. During the meeting, Rupani said, "Gujarat's textile sector remains to lead in global competitiveness and Gujarat will become a textile sector hub. This is the commitment of state government.”“All these topics will be kept into consideration in the new textile policy," he mentioned. "The government will give benefits like set off against the SGST levied from the textile sector and also will waive off power tariff,” Rupani said. He added, “The government expects near to Rs 1 lakh crore investment and also job creation for ten to twelve lakh people." "There is a special element in this policy that is about women operated textile units that will get additional benefits,” he said.“We have also taken care of conventional textiles of Gujarat like Patola, Bandhani and Jharikam in our policy and they will get an extra boost from the policy," he added. Energy Minister Saurabh Patel, Chief Secretary Dr JN Singh, Finance Secretary Arvind Agrawal, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister and Principal Secretary for Industries Manoj Kumar Das, Industries Commissioner Mamta Verma and other had attended the meeting to give the final shape to the policy.
Source: KNN
Gujarat government on Monday signed two memorandum of understandings (MoUs) with the Intimate Apparel Association of India (IAAI) and the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) to promote garment and apparel sectors in the state. The MoUs were signed here during a roadshow for an investment summit, Vibrant Gujarat 2019, in the presence of chief minister Vijay Rupani. The summit, to be held from January 18-20, 2019, in Gandhinagar, would be the ninth edition of the event. “We are expecting good response this year. We expect delegates from 110 countries this year,” Rupani told reporters after the event. He said more than 30,000 delegates from 100 countries participated in the last summit. In the eighth edition of Vibrant Gujarat last year, the state signed around 25,000 MoUs in sectors such as MSME, chemical, pharma, engineering and IT, among others. In the 2019 edition of the summit, the state expects 25,000-30,000 number of MoUs to be signed, according to a state government official.
Source: The Hindu
Surat: South Gujarat Productivity Council (SGPC) has suggested to the state government a number of security provisions for women in the new textile policy, which is scheduled to be announced by it soon. SGPC wants a government portal through which work could be assigned to women, a special policy for units run by women or those having more than 60 per cent female workforce, sexual harassment cells and hostel facilities for them in the industrial areas. SGPC president Asha Dave said, “An estimated 14 lakh people work in textile sector of Surat and 15 per cent of them are women. However, only 9.5 lakh are registered with the labour department. Menials jobs in the textile sector are done by women and they need maximum care and protection. The government should reserve lace and embroidery work etc for women and assign such jobs to them through its portal only. The women will get right remuneration for the work done by them and not be cheated.” She said many women come to Surat city for work from nearby towns and villages. Therefore, these working women should have hostel facilities in the city. Safety and security of women should be of a paramount importance to the authorities. Thus, SGPC has asked for sexual harassment cells in industrial areas and a special policy for units run by women or those having more than 60 per cent female workforce. Dave in a letter to the chief minister has also demanded from the state government identity cards for all the labourers working in the textile industry. “If a labourer’s antecedents have been verified, he would hesitate to commit any crime or harass a female co-worker in a unit.”
Source : Times of India
India and China have amended the bilateral tax treaty which will help prevent tax evasion by allowing exchange of information, the Finance Ministry said Monday. “The Protocol updates the existing provisions for exchange of information to the latest international standards,” the ministry said in a statement. India and China have amended the bilateral tax treaty which will help prevent tax evasion by allowing exchange of information, the Finance Ministry said Monday. The Government of India and the People’s Republic of China have signed a protocol on November 26, 2018, to amend the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) for the avoidance of double taxation and for the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income. “The Protocol updates the existing provisions for exchange of information to the latest international standards,” the ministry said in a statement. Further, the Protocol incorporates changes required to implement treaty related minimum standards under the Action reports of Base Erosion & Profit shifting (BEPS) Project. Besides minimum standards, the Protocol brings in changes as per BEPS Action reports as agreed upon by the two sides, the ministry added. Under Section 90 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, India can enter into an agreement with a foreign country or specified territory for avoidance of double taxation of income, for exchange of information for the prevention of evasion.
Source: Financial Express
Ahead of the interim Budget and general elections early next year, finance minister Arun Jaitley on Monday held a closed-door meeting with industry captains to discuss the current economic environment and the steps being taken by the government to address emerging issues. The meeting was organised by industry body CII. Later in the day, the finance ministry said the task force to draft a new direct tax law to replace the existing Income Tax Act will submit its report by February 28. The ministry had in November last year set up a six-member task force to rewrite the over 50-year-old I-T laws. However, the panel’s convener, Arbind Modi, retired on September 30, which left the report in limbo. The ministry on Monday named Central Board Of Direct taxes member Akhilesh Ranjan as the new head. While the upcoming interim Budget will primarily seek a vote on account (Parliament nod for expenditure to be incurred in the initial months of next fiscal while a full Budget will be presented by the next government), Jaitley will spell out a broad agenda of the Narendra Modi government if the BJP-led alliance returns to power in May. However, the government won’t announce any new policy measures in the interim budget. In Budget FY16, the government had unveiled a plan to reduce the corporate tax rate from 30% to 25% in four years to make India’s tax rates globally competitive. However, its implementation has been partial due to concerns on revenue front. It has cut the corporate tax rate to 25% for those companies which reported a total turnover of up to Rs 250 crore, largely benefiting MSMEs. Corporate India has been vocal in demanding the promised tax cuts be implemented in full. In October, Jaitley had told a gathering of industry captains that India needs a strong and decisive leadership at the Centre to sustain high economic growth, eliminate poverty and transform the country into a developed nation. A weak leadership at the Centre could not have handled the IL&FS crisis the way the present government did, he said. Despite external headwinds, the government has been confident about the achieving budget targets, especially fiscal deficit and capex targets in 2018-19. Economic affairs secretary Subhash Chandra Garg told FE on Friday that the government would meet this year’s fiscal deficit target of 3.3% of the gross domestic product, with a “small cut in expenditure.”
Source: Financial Express
Concerned over domestic resistance to the 16-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, and pressured by RCEP partners to extend greater commitment to liberalise its goods trade, India has decided to conduct a study on potential gains or losses to its economy from such a regional trade pact. Earlier this year, a government panel under commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu had decided to remain engaged in RCEP negotiations, but not to sweeten offer for goods trade further. The latest move to commission a study suggests New Delhi’s anxiety over potential losses from the mega deal hasn’t yet subsided. “The study will be conducted by the Centre for Regional Trade and the IIM Bangalore,” an official source told FE, adding it will also come handy during further RCEP negotiations. Negotiators from the RCEP members will next meet in February 2019 in Indonesia, which will be followed by a ministerial meeting in Thailand in April next year, the source said. Domestic industry and even certain ministries, including steel, have been critical of the RCEP deal on fears of dumping, especially by China. In the RCEP negotiations in Singapore in August, members agreed to provide India a time frame of over 20 years to eliminate tariff on key items for China, Australia and New Zealand with which it doesn’t have a free trade agreement. The members also agreed to include the free movement of skilled services professionals under the RCEP, acceding to another demand by India. The members also accepted India’s demand that it could also negotiate with its non-FTA partners, including China, bilaterally, and separately, on concessions they are willing to grant each other under the RCEP framework. RCEP negotiations, which were supposed to achieve substantial progress in 2018, will continue in 2019 as well. For its part, India has proposed to eliminate tariffs on 80% of products with a margin of 6%, depending on level of development of the other country as part of RCEP negotiations. This means India may have to scrap duties on 74% of goods from China in the long run. However, many RCEP members want India to commit to abolish duties on 92% of its goods. From steel to pharmaceuticals, industries have been criticising India’s existing trade agreements with Asean, Japan and South Korea on grounds that New Delhi’s trade deficit with these countries have only widened after these pacts came into force and there is little for domestic industry to benefit from. Also, India had a record $63 billion goods trade deficit with China in 2017-18. If, on top of this, a free trade agreement with China is effected through the RCEP (of which Beijing is a key member), cheap products will flood the market, they have pointed out. The steel ministry, for instance, argues that without any FTA, India has a trade deficit (in steel) of two million tonne with China and “considering the trend, it is imperative that pursuant to signing of the RCEP, the trade deficit will further widen”. The pharma industry, too, fears that cheap Chinese products will have unrestricted entry to India. Apart from the Asean members, China, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand are engaged in talks for the RCEP agreement. China was the biggest contributor to India’s $104-billion goods trade deficit with all the RCEP partners in 2017-18. The scrapping of tariff lines means import duties on specified items would be cut to zero over a mutually agreed-upon time frame. India has already made it clear that it is opposed to an “early harvest”. This means it wants agreements on all the three pillars of negotiations — goods, services and investment — be implemented only as a package, not one at a time. So even if a consensus is reached early on goods (which is what most nations want), India feels it shouldn’t be enforced in isolation.
Source: Financial Express
Textile manufacturers around the world are often stuck with excess fabric, because logistics, time and lack of visibility complicate things. From a designer point of view, current sourcing realities limit sourcing, inhibit creativity and innovation, thus affecting what they can produce for consumer needs around the globe. By developing a web platform that enables buyers to acquire left-over, in-stock textiles worldwide, Tengiva says it solves two major industry problems. First, it allows buyers to acquire textile in smaller quantities that help support specific stages or needs within the creative process: sampling, sizing sets, small productions or even custom orders. Then, there are textile manufacturers that end up with excess fabric. This textile isn’t picked up by the original buyer, but it’s still very useful for others. They just need to know it’s available and easy to access. This represents new business for manufacturers that want to expand their reach. “In order to support the demanding sourcing goals of an important uniform company, I had to buy over four million metres of performance fabric per year. However, before investing in large amounts of a certain textile, there’s a whole testing process you want to go through, in order to make smart choices. With textile, the current buying system forces you to buy substantial quantities and so, to respect budgets, you end up limiting your tests, you explore less and, ultimately innovation is constrained,” said Annie Cyr, founder of Tengiva. “I was working as a sourcing consultant for one of Quebec’s talented fashion designers, Mary-Jo Dorval from Kid’s Stuff, when I reconfirmed the need to bring Tengiva to life. Mary-Jo designs quality, grow with me clothing for children age 0-6, using ecological textiles whenever possible. Understandably, a children’s private line requires a limited amount of fabric, and Mary-Jo just couldn’t find what she was looking for, without having to overspend and buy way too much textile. Economically, this isn’t feasible, and ends up limiting what she’s able to create. And yet, the textile and quantities she needs, already most likely exist. We just needed to make them available.” Tengiva connects buyers and sellers, helping manufacturers improve their bottom line and efficiently distribute textile, while giving buyers increased access to great products, without having to overspend. It’s textile industry matchmaking and circular economics for better resource distribution and use. Additionally, the company educates buyers on textile types, advantages, features, limitations and much more.
How it works
Selected, pre-screened manufacturers feature their inventory on a micro-store that’s designed to showcase their excess stock. Each supplier has his own store, under the Tengiva umbrella. Direct contact information is published, so future production orders can be processed directly with a supplier. The platform was designed specifically with industry insider knowledge, so it’s easy to use and features relevant and necessary information that helps buyers make sound decisions. It will have simple dropdown menus and a user-friendly glossary. Buyers can browse by textile type, and also consult educational content that will further their knowledge of the available products and make buying smarter. The company is currently adding textile suppliers to the platform. Fabric will be available for purchasing before the new year.
Source: Innovation
With just about 40% of the agenda items having been resolved, there is still a long way to go before the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) talks are concluded, according to officials in the Commerce Ministry. They added that it was agreed during the recently-concluded Singapore Ministerial meeting that the deadline for an agreement be shifted to 2019.
Diplomatic points
The officials said that India had scored big diplomatic points at the Singapore meeting on November 12-13 by getting the countries gathered to omit the phrase 'significant conclusions' from the leaders' statements.
The RCEP grouping would include the 10 ASEAN countries, along with its six free trade agreement partners — Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand. “Before the Singapore meeting, just 5 of 16 chapters for discussion were settled,” a senior official in the Commerce Ministry said. “During the meeting, two more chapters were resolved, taking the total to seven. However, the core of the talks are about market access for goods, services and investment, and those talks are still ongoing.” A key issue was the terminology used to define the progress made. Some major economies such as China and Japan felt that the phrasing should be that “substantial conclusions” had been achieved. India strongly opposed this. “India discovered that in some countries’ trade parlance, ‘substantial conclusions’ is a legal terminology,” the official explained. “Adopting the term would have implied that discussions on market access were over, and that those countries would have to disclose the discussions to their Parliaments, and to their public.” “None of the [7 chapters settled] had to do with market access, discussions on which would have been seriously jeopardised.” After India pointed this out, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Australia also took up the issue. “Japan also realised the importance of what we were saying and started supporting us. The rest of the talks will now go into 2019, which gives lots of space to manoeuvre,” the official said.
Source: The Hindu
Mumbai : Snapping its seven-day rising streak, the rupee Monday fell by 18 paise to close at 70.87 against the US dollar amid softening crude oil prices.The domestic currency had gained a healthy 220 paise in the last seven trading sessions. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex), the rupee opened on a firm note at 70.48 against the US dollar. It gained further ground to hit a high of 70.30, following dollar selling by exporters. The local unit, however, pared the initial gains and finally settled the day at 70.87 to the US dollar, down 18 paise over its previous close. The rupee had rallied 77 paise to end at 70.69 against the US dollar Thursday on lower crude oil prices and foreign capital inflows. The forex market was closed Friday on account of Guru Nanak Jayanti. "The rupee appears to have put in a medium term bottom, driven by the sharp drop in crude oil, decline in foreign selling and improving prospects for the domestic economy," said Sunil Sharma, Chief Investment Officer, Sanctum Wealth Management. Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) made fresh purchases worth Rs 62.74 crore Monday, as per provisional data. Traders said bullish trend in the equity market as well as easing crude oil prices restricted the the rupee's fall. Brent crude was trading at USD 59.64 per barrel. Meanwhile, the 30-share Sensex settled 373.06 points, or 1.07 per cent, higher at 35,354.08. While, the broader NSE Nifty jumped 101.85 points, or 0.97 per cent, to finish at 10,628.60. The Financial Benchmark India Private Ltd (FBIL) set the reference rate for the rupee/dollar at 70.7144 and for rupee/euro at 80.2660. The reference rate for rupee/British pound was fixed at 90.6478 and for rupee/100 Japanese yen was 62.47.
Source: Financial Express
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1285.84 |
USD/Ton |
-0.33% |
11/25/2018 |
|
VSF |
1985.96 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/25/2018 |
|
ASF |
3014.91 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/25/2018 |
|
Polyester POY |
1252.02 |
USD/Ton |
-1.69% |
11/25/2018 |
|
Nylon FDY |
3137.24 |
USD/Ton |
-0.46% |
11/25/2018 |
|
40D Spandex |
4806.59 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/25/2018 |
|
Nylon POY |
5425.41 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/25/2018 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
1518.25 |
USD/Ton |
-0.47% |
11/25/2018 |
|
Polyester FDY |
2978.94 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/25/2018 |
|
Nylon DTY |
2734.29 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/25/2018 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
1439.10 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/25/2018 |
|
Polyester DTY |
3396.28 |
USD/Ton |
-0.42% |
11/25/2018 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2705.51 |
USD/Ton |
-0.53% |
11/25/2018 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1949.98 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/25/2018 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2935.76 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/25/2018 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2993.33 |
USD/Ton |
-0.95% |
11/25/2018 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2575.99 |
USD/Ton |
-0.56% |
11/25/2018 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2101.09 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/25/2018 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2504.03 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/25/2018 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.34 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
11/25/2018 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.81 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
11/25/2018 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.14 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
11/25/2018 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.64 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
11/25/2018 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.68 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
11/25/2018 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14391 USD dtd. 25/11/2018). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
Weighing on global risk sentiment were comments from U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday that seemed to hose down hopes of a trade truce with China. US dollar holds gains as fresh Donald Trump comments rekindle trade worries. The dollar held gains on Tuesday as fresh concerns about the Sino-U.S. trade war bolstered support for safe haven currencies, although moves were tempered as investors await possible cues from the Federal Reserve about policy direction. Weighing on global risk sentiment were comments from U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday that seemed to hose down hopes of a trade truce with China. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump said he expects to move ahead with raising tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports to 25 percent from 10 percent currently. The dollar index, a gauge of its value versus six major peers, was steady at 97.06, trading near its highest level since Nov. 15. The greenback has advanced over the previous two days as investors sought the safety of the world’s most liquid currency on fears that the global economic recovery was losing steam. Traders are also focused this week on a speech on Wednesday by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and minutes from the central bank’s Nov. 7-8 meeting to be released on Thursday, for further cues of how many more times the Fed is likely to hike interest rates.
Source: Financial Express
YANGON -- An international textile and garment expo hosted by Myanmar will take place in Myanmar's largest city Yangon from Dec. 6-9, according to the event organizer Monday. More than a dozen countries are expected to join the 7th Myanmar International Textile and Garment Industry Exhibition, jointly organized by the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers' Association and the Myanmar Textile Manufacturers' Association. The four-day expo at the Yangon Convention Center will showcase over 130 top brands from China, Germany, China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Japan, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, among others. Displayed at the exhibition will be clothing, textile, modern machinery such as embroidery machines, sewing machines, printing machines and flat knitting machines. The expo aims to build an efficient communication platform for the domestic market, said the event organizer, adding that Myanmar now has more than 400 garment factories employing about 400,000 workers and earning more than 2 billion U.S. dollars annually from foreign markets.
Source : Xinhuanet.com
LONDON (Reuters) - Euro zone business growth has been much weaker than expected this month as a slowing global economy and a United States-led trade war have led to a sharp fall in exports, a survey showed on Friday. The disappointing readings will likely be of concern to policymakers at the European Central Bank who are expected to end their 2.6 trillion euro asset purchase program next month. In Germany, Europe’s largest economy, business growth has slowed to a near four-year low this month, a survey showed earlier, sending the euro down to a day’s low of $1.1365. France’s private sector also struggled to keep up momentum in November as manufacturing activity softened in the face of falling new orders, a sister survey showed. IHS Markit’s Flash Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index for the euro zone fell to 52.4, its lowest since late 2014, from a final October reading of 53.1, missing the median expectation in a Reuters poll for a modest dip to 53.0. Anything above 50 in the survey, which is regarded as a good guide to economic health, indicates growth. The PMI survey results counter a Reuters poll last week which suggested euro zone growth will bounce back to a faster pace this quarter, allowing the European Central Bank to stop buying bonds next month as planned. Growth was pegged at 0.4 percent in that poll, but IHS Markit said the PMI pointed to a weaker 0.3 percent rate and could fall to 0.2 percent, depending on how December pans out. “November’s fall in the composite PMI raises doubts about whether the economy will rebound after a weak Q3. There’s no wonder the news has been taken badly by the market,” said Jack Allen at Capital Economics. “The big picture though is that the PMIs are unlikely to be weak enough to change the ECB’s plans to end its asset purchases next month.” However, weak data has been fuelling speculation that some ECB policymakers may be feeling uncomfortable about ending the buying program, particularly given inflation has not taken off. While none of the economists polled by Reuters expect the program to be extended into next year, interest rates are not forecast to be raised until after June. On Friday, investors further scaled back expectations for a rise in euro zone interest rates next year. They are now pricing in a less than 90 percent chance of a 10 basis-point increase in the ECB’s deposit rate - the minimum it is likely to increase - from minus 0.4 percent currently for next year. They had fully priced in such a move at the start of the week.
EXPORT HIT
Many developed economies are already slowing, while that of the euro zone grew at its weakest pace in more than four years last quarter, expanding a meager 0.2 percent. “Growth in new orders remains slow, indicating that the cruising speed of the euro zone economy has weakened. This was mainly because of weakening export orders, which has happened across both industry and services,” said Bert Colijn at ING. Weaker exports were the primary driver behind Germany’s first quarterly economic contraction since 2015, data showed on Friday, confirming a preliminary negative reading of 0.2 percent in the third quarter. An index measuring new export business across the euro zone, which includes trade within member countries, fell from October’s 49.2 to 48.9, the lowest since IHS Markit started collecting the data in September 2014. The PMI for the bloc’s dominant service industry fell to a 25-month low of 53.1 from October’s 53.7. With no sign of an end to the trade war between the United States and China in sight - something already hitting export-sensitive economies like Germany - optimism took a hit. The business expectations index fell to its lowest in almost four years. Manufacturers saw growth slow this month, with their PMI falling to 51.5 from 52.0, a level not seen since mid-2016. An index measuring output, which feeds into the composite PMI, slipped dangerously close to the break-even mark at 50.4, down from 51.3. It hasn’t been below 50 since June 2013.That slowing growth came as factories ran down orders at the fastest rate in almost four years. The backlogs of work index fell to 48.4 from 49.0.
Source: Reuters
Uztextileprom is exploring the possibility of exporting textile products from Uzbekistan to EU countries, in particular to the Polish market. The delegation of the Association "Uztextileprom" and representatives of the textile and garment-knitwear enterprises visit the Republic of Poland on November 19-25, 2018, press service of the Association "Uztextile" reports. At the Embassy of Uzbekistan in the Republic of Poland, a meeting was organized between representatives of textile and garment and knitwear enterprises of the Uztekstilprom Association with the leadership of Polish textile companies on November 20. The meeting with the participation of more than 40 managers and representatives of leading Polish textile companies was initiated by the Uzbek Embassy in Poland. During the conversation, the sides exchanged information on the current state of cooperation plans for the future between Uzbekistan and Poland in the textile industry, investment activities of Polish companies, as well as cooperation in research and development. Then the meeting was held in the QA form and the participants were able to get answers to all their questions. The Uzbek side provided information on the development of the textile industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan for the years of Independence, the adopted programs for the development of industry and the prospects for the short and long term, as well as implemented and implemented investment and social projects in the textile industry. In addition, the Uztextileprom Association made a number of proposals to optimize the export of domestic textile products to the Republic of Poland. Following the talks, the parties reached an agreement on taking measures to implement the most favorable conditions for the export of textile products to the Polish market. Agreements are planned to be signed on November 24 following the results of the International Textile Exhibition “Fast Textile 2018”, which is the most important event of the Polish textile industry. This year, “Fast Textile 2018” will be held from 22 to 24 November in Poland, the city of Nadazhin, near Warsaw, in the new exhibition complex Ptak Warsaw Expo. The 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Uzbekistan and Poland was celebrated in 2017. The trade turnover between Poland and Uzbekistan is characterized by some stability. The structure of Polish exports is dominated by supplies of live animals and animal products (about a third of total exports), chemical products (24 percent), various machinery, equipment, and motor vehicles (more than 20 percent). Poland imports from Uzbekistan mainly cotton and its products (more than 45 percent), mineral products (25 percent), chemical products (20 percent). Currently, 25 enterprises with Polish capital are operating in Uzbekistan. In 2017, two joint ventures were created in country and one representative office of a Polish company was opened in the fields of energy, textiles, pharmaceuticals and solid waste.
Source: Azer News
The Export Promotion Council is looking to expand Kenya's export products to Egypt to include art and entertainment, cut flowers and textiles rather than traditional export goods to improve trade between the two states. “We need to reduce the high dependency on imports by exporting more than what we currently do to include arts, cultural heritage and entertainment. It will also involve change of paradigm to encourage consumption of our products,” EPC chairman Jaswinder Bedi said during an update the country’s preparedness for the Intra Africa Trade Fair (IATF). Egypt is one of the Kenya’s largest export markets after the East African Community and European Union, however with trade being in favour of Egypt. Kenya imports from Egypt increased by nine per cent to Sh22.04 billion between January and July 2018 compared to the same period in 2017. Central Bank data also shows a Sh9.86 billion trade deficit between the same period, despite exports to the Egypt having increased by 21.9 per cent to Sh12.18 billion from Sh10.0 billion under the period in review. Kenya’s exports to Egypt include spices, tobacco, dairy products, aluminum, sisal, soda ash while some of imports from Egypt include rice, sugar, fish and fish products, paper and paper products, iron and steel, textiles, cosmetics, resins, Leather products, pharmaceuticals, Fertilizer, construction materials among others. This comes at a time when an Egyptian trade mission of 55 companies is visiting Kenya to look for business opportunities under the second Kenya-Egypt Business Forum. Other Kenyan products with potential into the Egyptian market include frozen and boneless beef, live animals, ghee and butter, nuts and fresh produce. Kenya will be among the countries in Africa exhibiting at the IATF in Cairo, Egypt from December 11-17. “Kenya has been at the forefront to promote intra-African trade allowed by our internal control mechanism. We are now looking at the trade fairs for enterprises to engage and have small and micro-enterprises to grow and stretch to other nations,” Trade PS Chris Kiptoo said.
Source: Kenya star
Record Saudi oil production pulled down crude prices on Tuesday amid cautious trading ahead of the G20 gathering that starts in Argentina on Friday and next week’s OPEC meeting in Austria. International Brent crude oil futures briefly dipped below $60 per barrel before edging back to $60.10 per barrel at 0147 GMT, still down 38 cents, or 0.6 percent, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $51.21 per barrel, down 42 cents, or 0.8 percent. Saudi Arabia raised oil production to an all-time high in November, an industry source said on Monday, pumping 11.1 million to 11.3 million barrels per day (bpd) during the month. Since their most recent peaks in early October, oil prices have lost almost a third of their value, weighed down by an emerging supply overhang and by widespread weakness in financial markets. “The recent weakness seems … to have been driven by a wider impending sense of doom amidst weak equities, geopolitics, subsequent softening demand and increasing supply,” said Jack Allardyce, oil analyst at financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald Europe. Looking ahead, Allardyce said “a lot depends” on the outcome of the Group of 20 (G20) meeting in Buenos Aires where the United States and China are expected to address their trade disputes, and on a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The leaders of the G20 countries, which make up the world’s biggest economies, meet on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, with the trade war between Washington and Beijing top of the agenda. OPEC will gather for its annual meeting at its headquarters in Vienna on Dec. 6, and the group will discuss its output policy together with some non-OPEC producers, including Russia.In favour of low oil prices for consumers, U.S. President Donald Trump has put pressure on his political ally Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s de-facto leader, not to cut production. Despite this, most analysts expect OPEC to start withholding supply again soon. “Our base case is for OPEC+ members to see through the pressure from President Trump and concentrate efforts on curbing the current oversupply in the market by conforming to a new production cut agreement next month in Vienna,” said Japan’s MUFG Bank. “If OPEC plus Russia cannot send a very strong message to the market, prices are poised to fall further, perhaps to Brent $50 per barrel and WTI of $40 per barrel or less,” Fereidun Fesharaki, chairman of energy consultancy FGE, wrote in a note to clients. “The message must be decisive, firm, and the front must look fully united, to have any chance of slowly reversing the trend,” it added.
Source: Financial Express
[GENEVA] The European Union published proposals on Monday for reform of dispute settlement at the World Trade Organization that it has agreed with China, India and other countries, hoping to overcome US objections that have thrown the WTO into crisis. The WTO is scrambling to develop a plan for the biggest reform in its almost 24-year history after President Donald Trump brought the world's top trade court to the brink of collapse by blocking appointments of its judges and threatening a US withdrawal. "Now, together with a broad coalition of WTO members, we are presenting our most concrete proposals yet for WTO reform. I hope that this will contribute to breaking the current deadlock," European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said in a statement. Mr Trump's administration has targeted the watchdog of global commerce as part of a wider campaign against trade arrangements he contends have cost hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs. US Ambassador to the WTO Dennis Shea has repeatedly criticised the WTO's Appellate Body, effectively the supreme court of world trade, of overstepping its authority and breaking its own rules, potentially invalidating its judgments. He has demanded the Appellate Body abide with the rules and has blocked the appointment process, slowly cutting down the number of judges. There are now the bare minimum of three, but from December 2019 there will be only one, making it impossible for the WTO to issue final appeals. An EU official said the bloc had identified five US concerns, and the new proposal addressed them comprehensively, adding that it was now up to Washington to do its part. The proposals will be presented at the WTO's General Council, its highest-level format outside of a ministerial meeting, on Dec 12. Mr Shea has said the United States objected to an earlier version of the EU proposals, saying they went against the US desire to increase accountability at the Appellate Body. The EU official said the EU had not received any official response from the United States to the latest proposals.
Source: Financial Express
GENEVA (Reuters) - Global growth in merchandise trade is likely to slow further this quarter, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Monday, as it published a quarterly indicator showing declines in all seven of the drivers of trade that it tracks. The WTO’s quarterly trade outlook indicator showed a reading of 98.6, the lowest since October 2016, reflecting a further loss of momentum since August, when the index was at 100.3. A reading below 100 signals below-trend growth in trade. The indicator is based on seven drivers - merchandise trade volume in the previous quarter, export orders, international air freight, container port throughput, car production and sales, electronic components and agricultural raw materials. In the latest reading, electronic components plunged to 93.3 from 102.2 in the previous quarter, while agricultural raw materials slumped to 97.2 from 100.1 and export orders slid to 96.6 from 97.2 in August. World trade growth has struggled to outpace economic growth since the global financial crisis of 2008, ending a long streak in which trade increased at roughly double the rate of global GDP. Trade appeared to be reviving last year when it grew by 4.7 percent, prompting cheery forecasts in April of a further 4.4 percent rise this year and 4.0 percent in 2019. However, the WTO cut those forecasts in September, following the opening salvoes of a trade war triggered by U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum and on goods from China. The WTO’s new forecasts of 3.9 percent growth this year and 3.7 percent in 2019 may still prove optimistic. “Risks to the forecast are considerable and firmly weighted to the downside. A further ratcheting up of trade tensions could have direct negative effects on trade, but also beyond,” the WTO said in a report on G20 trade barriers last week. “A build-up of economic and financial risks could undermine trade and output and developing and emerging economies could experience capital outflows and financial contagion as developed countries raise interest rates.”
Source: Returns
