The export of cotton yarn has dropped 35% in the first quarter of FY20 to $696 million compared to $1.063 billion in the same period last fiscal.
The export of cotton yarn has dropped 35% in the first quarter of FY20 to $696 million compared to $1.063 billion in the same period last fiscal.
Quoting government sources, the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) said that in April the fall was 21% to $266 million compared to $337 million in the same month previous year. May saw a decline of 31% to $241 million against $349 million in May 2018 and June saw a whopping decline of 50% to $188 million compared to $378 million reported in June previous year.
The export of cotton yarn has been declining since 2014 when the Union government removed all incentives for the shipments. India lost its main market China to Vietnam which has duty free access to China while our cotton yarn attracts 3.5% duty, said CITI.
The position is getting worse day by day, the industry needs rebate on state and central taxes and levies (RoSCTL) on an urgent basis to save the only textile segment where India is a leader. The government has extended RoSCTL to made-ups and apparel but totally ignored the yarn & fabric segment, CITI said.
To make things worse, Indian raw cotton price is the highest in the world despite the country being one of the largest producers. The 28% hike in MSP disrupted the prices, leading to disconnect with international prices. It is important to introduce ‘direct benefit transfer’ to farmers to ensure that industry gets international competitive prices for cotton fibre, the apex body added.
Source: Financial Express
Sustainability is not a luxury; it’s a necessity in business. Sustainable practices followed by the textile industry will help support the planet. And natural dyes can play an important role in making textiles sustainable. If even 10 per cent of the world’s textiles can be produced using natural dyes, it can be a great contribution towards humanity, says Yawer Ali Shah, cofounder, AMA Herbal Laboratories.
What are natural dyes? Why are they being used in textiles?
Natural dyes are extracted from vegetables, minerals, plants or flowers. Currently, the textile industry is the second largest contributor to environmental pollution because of the wide prevalence of chemical dyes, and denim is seen as the most polluting material. Hence, the need to create eco-friendly textiles was felt.
Bio indigo (natural indigo), a dye extracted from Indigofera Tinctoria, is known to impart a deep blue colour to fabrics. Only the leaves of the plant are used since they contain the greatest concentration of dye molecules.
Apart from bio indigo, AMA Herbal works on commercialisation of other natural colourants as well, such as mellow (a by-product of pomegranate rinds), bee (a byproduct of kattha), and nimbus (a by-product of lac used in the shellac industry) and others.
What is the demand for natural dyes in India?
Natural dyes like bio indigo are being used industrially as well as by artisans to manufacture handwoven products. Not just in India, but also overseas, in the UK, US, China etc.
Colours like indigo, khaki, brown, green, yellow, etc., extracted through natural resources and waterless dyeing, are being used for printing textiles. With our patented technology, we undertake dyeing at room temperature, which saves energy. All natural dyes are biodegradable.
How does AMA Herbal support dyers in the production process?
AMA Herbal is the only firm specialised in natural dyes in India which has a technical team to give a complete threeday training through its onsite and off-site workshops to the dyers. Dyers are educated about commercial and industrial practices of natural dyeing vis-à-vis theory and practical trials as well.
How do natural dyes support the society and economy?
Huge employment is generated by cultivation of crops and collection of leaves, fruits and flowers, as well as the cleaning of the herbal material. For example, the manufacture of one kilogram of bio indigo provides employment to two rural farmers. Being a legume crop, it also supports the environment. Natural dyes support all three spheres of sustainability: Environment, society, and economy.
What is your vision for the future?
AMA Herbal works on the principle of ‘spirituality in business’. Spirituality is about prioritising others over yourself and being committed to the promotion of natural dyes as tapasya (penance) for us, so it can benefit the planet as well as humanity.
Today, AMA is a leading natural dyes manufacturing company. We are focusing on the industrial development of natural dyes to let as many people benefit as possible. We want to be known as an important contributor in achieving 100 per cent sustainable textiles to make this industry climate positive.
Source: Economic Times
Govt, exporters to meet today to discuss ways to gain from trade war
Indian exporters want the government to ease regulatory norms in order to help them build capacities to gain from the on-going trade war between China and the US.
“The government has asked us for inputs on how to increase exports to China and the US given the fact that the two have imposed high tariffs on each other’s products creating opportunities for third country imports. There is a meeting scheduled on Wednesday on the issue. We strongly feel that India is in a position to exploit the opportunity but capacity constraint is the biggest bottleneck,” said Sharad Kumar Saraf, President, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).
The Federation, which will give its recommendations to the government based on its interaction with its members, would bring to the government’s attention the need for fast allocation of land for export units and time-bound grant of permits and licences.
The meeting between exporters and the Commerce Ministry on Wednesday is likely to be attended by Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Hardeep Puri.
Land allocation
“We will ask the government to come up with schemes which will enable immediate allocation of land for setting up export units without legal complexities. Additionally, we would suggest that any factory exporting at least 60 per cent of its products should be recognised as an export-intensive unit and should be given licences and permits in a time-bound manner,” said Saraf.
Saraf said that he and many of his fellow exporters had already started getting queries from the American market but could not take the new orders because of their limited capacities.
Till now, the US has imposed tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese products, and has threatened tariffs on $325 billion more of exports. In retaliation, China has imposed tariffs on $110 billion worth of US exports.
In a recent study, the Commerce Ministry identified 203 products where India’s exports could be increased to the US, replacing Chinese goods, and 151 items where exports to China could rise.
Alicia García Herrero, Chief Economist for the Asia Pacific for Natixis, a French financial services firm, also believes that Asian economies, including India, could benefit from the US-China trade war in the mid-term but they have to build their capacities.
“Short-term winners might be some European sectors, especially in the auto/aerospace and Japan’s semiconductor industry. In the medium-run, emerging Asia could benefit from the offshoring of value chain away from China….,” she said while speaking to journalists a recent interaction organised by the National Press Foundation in Hong Kong.
As per an analysis done by Natixis, India is ranked second amongst Asian countries likely to gain in labour- intensive products while it is placed sixth for medium tech capital-intensive products.
Source: Business line
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has pointed out lacunae in the goods and services tax (GST) regime, saying that system-validated input tax credit through invoice matching is not in place and a non-intrusive e-tax system still remains elusive after two years of its roll out.
In its report on GST for 2017-18 tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, the CAG said tax collections under the GST slowed down in the first year of its roll out.
To buttress its point, the CAG said growth in indirect taxes of the Union government slowed down to 5.80 per cent in 2017-18 as compared to 21.33 per cent during 2016-17.
It said post-implementation, the Centre’s revenue from GST (excluding central excise on petroleum and tobacco) registered a decline of 10 per cent in 2017-18 compared to revenue of subsumed taxes in 2016-17.
It pulled up the department of revenue, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), both under the finance ministry, and GST Network (GSTN) for their failure to try out the GST system adequately before rolling it out on July 1, 2017.
It said the complexity of the returns mechanism and the technical glitches resulted in roll back of invoice-matching, rendering the system prone to input tax credit frauds. Without invoice matching and auto generation of refunds, the envisaged GST tax compliance system is non-functional, it said.
While it was expected compliance would improve as the system would stabilise, all returns being filed showed a declining trend from April 2018 to December 2018, it said.
The CAG said the filing percentage of GSTR-1 returns (monthly returns on outward supplies) was less throughout in comparison to the corresponding filing of GSTR-3B returns (summary of self-assessed return).
The introduction of GSTR-3B resulted in filing of returns with input tax credit claims which could not be verified and it appears to have disincentivised the filing of even GSTR-1.
“Since the filing of GSTR-1 is mandatory, short-filing is an area of concern and needs to be addressed,” said the CAG.
As GSTR-3B is only a summary return, short-filing of GSTR-1 implies that the tax department did not have complete invoice level details as filed by the suppliers.
This could be used to verify details given in GSTR-3B or to arrive at a turnover.
CAG said the system of payment and settlement of tax that was envisaged for GST was based on one 100 per cent invoice-matching and availment of input tax credit, as well as settlement of Integrated Goods and Service Tax (IGST) on the basis of invoice-matching. “Neither is possible as of now, as an invoice-matching system has not kicked-in,” said the CAG.
Invoice matching is a critical requirement that would yield the full benefits of this major tax reform. It would protect the tax revenues of both the Centre and states and lead to proper settlement of IGST. It would minimise, if not eliminate, the tax official-assessee interface, the report said.
In fact, even “assessment” in the sense understood in the manual system may no longer be necessary (returns themselves can be generated by a system that matches invoices). Cases of evasion, among others, can be traced by applying analytical tools and artificial intelligence to the massive data that crores of invoices generate, the CAG said.
GSTN is in the process of replacing old returns with the new simplified ones. The process would be implemented in a staggered manner by January next year. GSTN on Tuesday issued offline tools of new returns to be tried by stakeholders.
Source: Business Standard
The Commerce Minsitry is considering a recast of export incentives and is expected to roll back the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS). Apparel exporters are concerned about the move, which could be a part of a new export-import policy as the current policy is expiring in 2020.
A four per cent incentive is given to garments exporters under MEIS. Industry insiders said the move, if implemented, will “kill” the sector, which is the second largest employment generator after agriculture.
MEIS has helped exporters take on competition from Bangladesh and Vietnam as it provides duty credit to address infrastructure issues. Under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, a country can't offer export subsidies if its per capita Gross National Income (GNI) remains above $1,000 for three years in a row. In 2017, the WTO notified that India’s GNI had crossed $1,000 in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
After the US challenged India's eligibility to extend export subsidies at the WTO, the government has been reportedly working on recasting its entire export incentive policy. Industry sources said they fear that the government is planning to withdraw MEIS from August 1, 2019 itself.
“The move will kill the industry and lead to a major disaster because the industry operates at a very low margin. Withdrawal of the incentive will turn the margin negative," said Rahul Mehta, president, Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI).
Raja M Shanmugham, president, Tirupur Exporters Association added that MEIS has been a lifeline for the industry and its withdrawal would impact the industry very badly and end up claiming thousands of jobs, especially in medium and small enterprises.
For example, the knitwear hub of Tirupur used to get a benefit to the tune of around Rs 1,040 crore every year through MEIS. While the quantum may appear small for a town that exports apparel worth Rs 26,000 crore annually, but for small businesses it is big money especially at a time when the odds are stacked against them -- scarce capital, lack of infrastructure and tough competition with peers outside the country.
Garments being exported to European Union (EU) from Bangladesh do not attract any duty, while those from India face a levy of around 7 per cent. These countries also enjoy lower power, labour and interest costs as their governments see the sector as critical for employment generation.
These factors contribute to the 15 per cent price difference between Indian products and those made in Bangladesh or Vietnam.
Shanmugham says it is important to come out with an alternative policy compatible with WTO rules that extends benefits equivalent of MEIS for the growth of industry. He stresses that it's also important to provide infrastructure facilities apart from inking free trade agreements with the EU, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada etc.
Meanwhile, benefits of the Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies on Export of Garments and Made-ups (RoSCTL) scheme are yet to be realised by exporters. Authorities cite technical issues with the scheme as the reason. A Sakthivel, vice-chairman, Apparel export promotion council said the government needs to immediately resolve the problems plagueing the scheme.
Manu Kapur, CEO of GHCL's textile business says that the MEIS scheme, floated with the objective of offsetting infrastructural inefficiencies and the costs associated with exporting products made in India, should be in place at least till the end of the current financial year.
In a challenging retail environment, with the average wallet spend on textiles decreasing and several retailers going under, this scheme is vital for making India’s products more competitive on the global stage.
Source: Business Standard
The rupee declined by 10 paise to close at 68.85 against the US dollar on Tuesday amid heavy selling in domestic equities and rising crude oil prices.
Forex traders said strengthening of the greenback against Asian currencies weighed on the domestic unit.
At the interbank foreign exchange (forex), the domestic currency opened at 68.73 a dollar and gained further to touch a high of 68.67 during the day.
The domestic currency, however, could not hold on to the gains and fell to 68.88. The rupee finally settled at 68.85 a dollar, down 10 paise over its previous close.
Forex traders said the rupee is trading in a narrow range as market participants are awaiting cues from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on July 31.
Besides, market participants are also looking forward to the US and China trade talks, which can impact rupee movement.
The US and Chinese officials are restarting negotiations in Shanghai in an effort to resolve the year-long trade dispute.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.07 per cent to 98.11.
Heavy selling in domestic equities and foreign fund outflows weighed on the rupee.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.93 per cent to USD 64.30 per barrel.
Meanwhile, the 10-year government bond yield was at 6.39 per cent on Tuesday.
The benchmark index Sensex on Tuesday fell over 289.13 points to close at 37,397.24 due to heavy selling mainly in banking, auto and oil & gas stocks. The 50-share NSE Nifty too dropped 103.80 points to settle at 11,085.40.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets, pulling out Rs 704.42 crore on Tuesday, provisional data showed.
Source: Financial Express
The Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) has came down heavily on the GST (Goods & Services Tax) executioners saying that system is vulnerable to fraudulent Input Tax Credit (ITC claims).
This also substantiates the government’s response that Central GST Authorities booked cases of fake invoice(s) involving fraudulent ITC in GST. A total of 1,620 such cases involving an amount of ₹11,251 crore were detected in 2018-19. Even during current fiscal (between April 1 and June 25), 535 cases came in light involving total amount of over ₹2,500 crore. Authorities arrested 154 and 40 people during these two years, respectively.
According to report laid in the Lok Sabha, CAG said that law prescribes the recipient of supplies would take credit of the input tax paid on such supplies. Recipient should utilise the ITC available in the credit ledger for discharging his tax liabilities. As per GST Rules, ITC could not be claimed by a taxpayer unless it had been paid by the supplier. This was supposed to be ensured through the provisions for matching of invoices of ‘suppliers and recipients’ through filing of returns GSTR-1 and 2 and generation of monthly return GSTR-3 based on GSTR-1 and -2 filed by taxpayers, with taxpayer adding details of tax paid in GSTR-3.
However, for the time being, filing of GSTR-2 return had been kept in abeyance and taxpayers were allowed to claim ITC in GSTR-3B return without any such cross-verification. Under GSTR-3B, ITC was claimed by the taxpayer on self-assessment basis. Hence, in the absence of evidence that ITC was being claimed by a taxpayer after payment of tax by the supplier, there was a risk that the irregular ITC claims by the taxpayers might go undetected.
Excess IGST credit
According to the report, out of ₹8.19 lakh crore of ITC of IGST claimed during July 1, 2017 to August 8, 2018), taxpayers of Andhra Pradesh alone claimed (on July 19, 2018) IGST-ITC for ₹6.45 lakh crore which was considered as highly unlikely. This was brought to the notice of GSTN (GST Network, the IT backbone of indirect tax system) by audit on August 21, 2018.
The report noted reply by GSTN. The reply said that while filing the GSTR-3B in July for June 2018, a taxpayer in Andhra Pradesh claimed excess IGST credit of ₹6.45 lakh crore. He revised the same on August 28, 2018. Thus, “unrealistic erroneous claim of ITC of IGST by one taxpayer, representing 79 per cent of total ITC claim by all taxpayers for a month, was allowed by the system, exposing the vulnerability of the system to fraudulent ITC claims,” CAG said.
It further added that the adherence to the business rules and the system design are the responsibility of Department of Revenue, Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Custom (CBIC) State Tax authorities and GSTN. It mentioned that the system of payment and settlement of tax that was envisaged for GST was based on one hundred per cent invoice-matching and availment of ITC, as well as settlement of IGST on the basis of invoice-matching.
“Neither is possible as of now, as an invoice-matching system has not kicked-in. Invoice-matching is the critical requirement that would yield the full benefits of this major tax reform,” the CAG said while emphasising that it would protect the tax revenues of both the Centre and the States, it would lead to proper settlement of IGST and would minimise, if not eliminate, the tax official-assessee interface.
Source: Business Line
In a bid to give a leg-up to the slowing economy, the Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday relaxed the end-use restrictions related to external commercial borrowings (ECBs), allowing corporates and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) to raise ECBs for working capital and general corporate purposes.
Under the revised ECB policy, long-term overseas borrowing will enable NBFCs, especially housing finance companies, overcome asset-liability mismatches and liquidity stress that they are currently facing and shed their conservatism in lending. Corporates in manufacturing and infrastructure, which are classified as special mention account (SMA) 2 (where principal or interest payment is overdue between 61-90 days), or as non-performing assets, can take the ECB route for repayment of rupee loans availed domestically for capital expenditure under any one-time settlement with lenders. This may enable resolution of stressed assets.
So far, ECB proceeds could not be utilised for working capital purposes, general corporate purposes, and repayment of rupee loans except when the ECB is availed of from the foreign equity holder for a minimum average maturity period of five years. Further, on-lending for these activities out of ECB proceeds, was also prohibited.
ECBs are commercial loans raised by eligible resident entities from recognised lenders, except foreign branches/overseas subsidiaries of Indian banks.
Average maturity period
As per the relaxed ECB end-use provisions, the RBI has permitted ECBs with a minimum average maturity period of 10 years for working capital purposes and general corporate purposes. Borrowing by NBFCs for this maturity for on-lending for the above purposes is also permitted.
ECBs, with a minimum average maturity period of seven years, can be availed by eligible borrowers for repayment of rupee loans availed domestically for capital expenditure, as also by NBFCs for on-lending for the same purpose.
For repayment of rupee loans availed domestically for purposes other than capital expenditure and for on-lending by NBFCs for the same, the minimum average maturity period of the ECB is required to be 10 years.
The RBI said eligible corporate borrowers will be allowed to avail ECB for repayment of rupee loans availed domestically for capital expenditure in manufacturing and infrastructure sector if classified as SMA-2, or NPA, under any one-time settlement with lenders.
Lender banks are also permitted to sell, through assignment, such loans to eligible ECB lenders, except foreign branches/ overseas subsidiaries of Indian banks, provided the resultant ECB complies with all-in-cost, minimum average maturity period, and other relevant norms of the ECB framework.
Source: Business Line
Prabhu said there was a need to strengthen the Tamil Nadu textile sector by achieving manufacturing excellence, consistent quality, and continuous improvement to match the moving benchmarks.
The trade war between USA and China has provided a good opportunity to India in the textile sector, convenor of Indian Texpreneurs Federation Prabhu Dhamodaran said Saturday. With the global export of textiles pegged at USD 260-billion, the export from China to US has gone down by three to four per cent in the last five months, which has to be cashed in on by the Indian textile manufacturers, he said.
Dhamodaran was speaking after inaugurating the 2nd edition of the National Textile Conclave aimed at creating awareness and spreading the principle of Japanese ‘5S system’ (which stands for: order, cleanliness, purity and commitment), and quality circle principles.
The conclave was organised by Quality Circle Forum Of India (QCFI) here. He further said manufacturers have to shift their focus to value-added products in apparel segment and large-scale apparel manufacturing, which would reduce the cost in basic commodity apparels.
Increase by one-billion dollar export from India would help in generating 1.5 lakh new jobs, he said. Prabhu said there was a need to strengthen the Tamil Nadu textile sector by achieving manufacturing excellence, consistent quality, and continuous improvement to match the moving benchmarks.
QCFI executive director D K Srivatsava said the national convention of the forum would be held here in 2020. In his address, CEO of IDFC (Infrastructure Development Finance Company) Dr N S Rajan said happy employees deliver 30 per cent more productivity, two times more innovative solutions, which lead to less attrition in the organisations.
Source: Financial Express
Australia is leading diplomats from various countries involved in the negotiations for the 16-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement to convince India to commit to the deal by the end of the year. According to High Commissioner to India Harinder Sidhu, while there is “political will” that goes “right to the top” within the Indian government to go ahead with the FTA, the government’s task is to ensure Indian industry will support the decision.
“The task at hand, which I am sure the Indian government is doing, is to explain that what the RCEP will do for them is to open the door to multiple markets in one fell swoop,” Ms. Sidhu said in an interview to The Hindu, ahead of the RCEP ministerial talks in Beijing on August 2-3. Union Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal will attend the talks.
A team of Indian trade negotiators are in Zhengzhou, capital of central China’s Henan Province, until July 31 for talks on concluding “substantial outcomes” by November 1, when the RCEP summit will be held.
Over the past week, Mr. Goyal has held a series of consultations with various industry members, most of whom are ranged heavily against the deal. They expressed serious concerns, including worries over the flooding of the market with Chinese goods, and the lack of access for Indian services in the RCEP countries, which include the 10-nation ASEAN grouping and its six FTA partners — India, China, Japan, Australia, South Korea and New Zealand.
Industry cautious on RCEP deal
Ahead of the 16-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Free Trade Agreement ministerial talks in Beijing on August 2 and 3, Union Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal met with representatives from various Export Promotion Councils in the engineering, auto, chemical, pharmaceutical, leather, agriculture, marine & food processing, dairy, copper, zinc, aluminium, textiles and gems sectors in separate meetings in Mumbai and Delhi.
‘Detrimental impact’
However, far from building consensus on the issue, industry sources at the meetings said they remain worried about the “detrimental” consequences of the RCEP agreement.
“From our past experience we have seen that whenever India has rushed into an FTA negotiation, trade deficits have always widened with nations after signing free-trade-agreements with them. The industry is apprehensive that the RCEP negotiations are also being hurried into without practising any caution which may be suicidal for India,” a member of the delegation explained.
Responding to the criticism of RCEP, the Australian High Commissioner to India Harinder Sidhu said it was the industry’s responsibility to use the FTAs well. Australia is leading diplomats from various countries to convince India to commit to the deal by the end of the year.
“Indian negotiators like any good negotiators can get the best deal in their own country’s interests. But the second part is that industry has to use the access that they gain from the agreement to extend their reach,” Ms. Sidhu said, adding that at the last round of RCEP trade negotiations in Melbourne, the Australian government was “reasonably optimistic that a conclusion on RCEP is achievable by the end of the year”.
Joining later
Managing industry concerns is one challenge for the Centre in the month leading up to the RCEP summit in Bangkok in November, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend.
The other challenge would be if RCEP countries decide to go ahead without countries like India, and leave the door open for India to join at a later date, something Ms. Sidhu said would be a “deeply disappointing” outcome.
Source: The Hindu
The United State is "working hard" with the Indian government to provide the country with opportunities to grow its economy as a part of the Trump Administration's Indo-Pacific strategy, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday.
"Our Indo-Pacific strategy is well on its way to bearing fruit for not only them but for the United States, and we have watched these coalitions build out. We're working hard with the Indian government to provide them with opportunities to grow their economy as well," Pompeo told reporters accompanying him on a tour to the Indo-pacific region, in response to a question.
Source: Business Standard
Eurofins, the Luxembourg-head quartered testing and support services provider, in association with the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), is sponsoring a webinar on ‘Discovering Microplastics’. The webinar, to be held on August 1, 2019, 2.00 p.m. to 3.00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), is open to all apparel and footwear industry professionals.
Microplastics are ubiquitous in the aquatic environment and the laundering of synthetic garments is a contributor. Participants in the webinar will come to know about the sources of microplastics in the environment and learn what actions various countries are employing to educate the consumer and restrict usage of microplastics.
The webinar will also present in-house test methods to grasp the effluent discharge of microplastics produced by laundering of synthetic textiles.
Speakers in the webinar include Peter Hughes, sustainability lead, Eurofins | BLC Leather Technology Centre Ltd, and Ben DeVito, director, North America Softlines and Leather, Global Sales, Eurofins Product Testing. Kristen Kern, government relations representative, AAFA, will moderate the webinar.
The webinar is significant as plastics are widely used in the manufacture of many millions of consumer products including fashion items such as footwear and apparel. As a result, the pollution of microplastics has become a global problem and is rising to the top of many political and organisational agendas. Therefore, businesses manufacturing synthetic products should be concerned about the potential for microplastic pollution and test their products to establish microplastic discharge and be aware of future restrictions on microplastics. (RKS)
Source: Fibre2Fashion
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned China against waiting out his first term to finalize any trade deal, saying if he wins re-election in the November 2020 US presidential contest, the outcome could be no agreement or a worse one.
"The problem with them waiting ... is that if & when I win, the deal that they get will be much tougher than what we are negotiating now...or no deal at all," Trump said in a post on Twitter, as the latest U.S-China trade talks began in Shanghai.
Trump said China appeared to be backing off on a pledge to buy US agricultural products, which US officials have said could be a goodwill gesture and part of any final pact.
"China ... was supposed to start buying our agricultural product now - no signs that they are doing so. That is the problem with China, they just don't come through," Trump wrote in a series of tweets.
US and Chinese officials restarted negotiations after talks stalled in May, in a bid to end the year-long trade war marked by tit-for-tat tariffs, but must still resolve deep differences, keeping expectations for this week's two-day meeting low.
The trade war between the world's two largest economies has rattled global financial markets that have also been pressured by this week's US Federal Reserve policy meeting and renewed concerns over Britain's exit from the European Union.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said the trade talks were going well with China, but added the United States would "either make a great deal or no deal at all."
"We'll see what happens," he told reporters.
The US negotiating team arrived for talks in Shanghai Tuesday afternoon but there was no sighting of US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer or US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The US and Chinese delegations later appeared to have reached Shanghai's historic Fairmont Peace Hotel where sources say the US delegations are having dinner, but both teams avoided the media and did not make public comments.
Trump has targeted China as part of his "America First" campaign that helped him win the White House in 2016 and has staked his re-election bid in part on the strength of the US economy. He has sought to negotiate various trade deals with China as well as Europe and other countries as part of his efforts to make good on his campaign promises.
On Tuesday, Trump also reiterated that Beijing might stall talks in hopes of inking a laxer deal with "somebody like Elizabeth Warren or Sleepy Joe Biden," singling out two Democratic presidential frontrunners, before reversing course.
"China is dying to make a deal with me. But whether or not I do it, is up to me. It's no up to them." he said. "China is willing to give up a lot. But that doesn't mean I'm willing to accept it."
Source: Business Standard
