India’s container trade growth falls to 1% in April-June
India’s export-import (EXIM) trade is expected to face continued headwinds in the coming months, A P Moller Maersk, said after its April-June India trade report showed the country’s containerised trade growth slowed to 1 per cent (9 per cent in the same period last year). Moller Maersk attributed the steep growth decline to “a cocktail of international factors such as slowing trade growth, and growing trade tensions – coupled with domestic factors like rural consumer distress, tightening liquidity and a slowdown in key manufacturing sectors”. “Combined, these triggers impacted the country’s economic activity, slowing overall import-export growth,” it said in the report released on Monday. “The overall deceleration of trade growth reflects a broad-based slowdown across key economic sectors. Amidst increasing global volatility, a slower local economy and the USA’s withdrawal of preferential access for certain Indian products, India’s import-export trade is expected to continue to face headwinds in the coming months,” said Steve Felder, Managing Director, Maersk South Asia. “However, the Commerce Ministry’s recently proposed export promotion scheme, supported with a production-based support scheme, coupled with a weaker rupee, is likely to boost `Make in India’ and benefit multiple industries. Additionally, India has a great opportunity to position itself as a beneficiary of the global trade tensions, provided it can attract investment, move up the ease of doing business index and reduce costs related to logistics,” Felder said without making a reference to last Friday’s corporate tax cuts announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and its impact on reviving the economy and trade. India’s exports to China declined by 20 per cent, led by a reduction in demand for India-made textiles and apparel, which were large export commodities in the corresponding period last year. Imports from China contracted more, by 22 per cent. On the other hand, the increasing economic cooperation between India and Saudi Arabia led the latter to emerge as one of India’s most reliable export partners in Q2 2019, growing by 74 per cent, with vegetables and tiles, stone and glass exports from India leading this growth. The commodity that saw the sharpest fall in exports to North America was India-made vehicles, which slowed to 11 per cent growth from a healthy 67 per cent growth last year. On the import side, while domestic demand for textiles, apparel and accessories from North America grew, commodities such as fruits and nuts, vegetables and foodstuff experienced a weakening demand, it said. The quarterly India Trade Report that Moller Maersk publishes is based on its own containerised data.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
The negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) are poised towards conclusion with negotiators from the 16 member countries are trying to tie all the loose knots in an on-going meeting in Vietnam this week. But, India continues to grapple with the dilemma of wanting to stay in the group while protecting the interests of its vulnerable sectors and is yet to reach an understanding with other members, including China, on market opening commitments. “Negotiators from India now have a clear mandate of not exiting the talks coming right from the top. Yet so many domestic sectors are continuing to demand protection. In fact, the dairy and textile sectors held intense meetings with the Commerce Ministry just before the Vietnam meeting. It is a tricky situation as other RCEP members are not willing to be very flexible on their ambitious demands for market access,” a government official told BusinessLine. New Delhi is under pressure to agree to eventually eliminate import tariffs on more than 90 per cent of traded goods for the 10-member ASEAN, Japan and South Korea. For China, Australia and New Zealand, with which India does not have bilateral free trade agreements, the demand reportedly is that India eliminate duties on about 80-86 per cent of goods. “The greatest fear amongst various sectors, be it steel, engineering goods, chemicals, dairy or agriculture, is that tariffs on about 28 per cent of items will have to be brought down to zero immediately when the pact is implemented while the rest of the elimination is to be done in phases. They will hardly have time to adjust to the new challenges that the competition would generate,” the official explained. Time is running out for India as the on-going Trade Negotiations Committee meeting in Vietnam could be the last meeting of the group followed by a possible inter-sessional meeting of Trade Ministers. The results of the negotiations would be announced at the ASEAN Summit in November this year, said Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit at a press conference after chairing the 7th RCEP Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok earlier this month. The signing of the RCEP pact is likely in 2020, he added. Another area of concern for India is the liberal rules of origin (ROO) that most RCEP members adopt. ROO lays down the minimum value addition required by a particular country on an imported product for it to qualify as an item originating from there. So, even if India manages to keep tariffs on certain items being imported from China higher than that for other RCEP members, with low value addition requirement Chinese items can be dumped into India at lower duties via other RCEP countries. “India has been insisting on high value addition requirements but it has found little support till now. All major RCEP members including the ASEAN, Japan and Australia are opposing it and pushing for less restrictive rules,” the official said. Indian negotiators are also trying to make the RCEP countries agree to a special safeguard mechanism that would have an auto-trigger allowing members to raise import duties on items when a certain pre-decided import limit is breached. The RCEP, which includes a number of sectors such as goods, services, investments, government procurement, intellectual property, could be the largest free trade zone in the world accounting for 39 per cent of global GDP, 30 per cent of global trade, 26 per cent of global foreign direct investment flows and 45 per cent of the total population.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) will on Thursday conduct a meeting of associations in the textile sector to gather their demands and present it to the Centre, representatives said here on Monday. CITI chairman T Rajkumar said they would compile the demands of all associations in the textile sector and present it to the ministries of commerce, finance and textiles before October 15. The new office-bearers of CITI, Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL) and Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA), at a press briefing, said the Centre should provide incentives and schemes for yarn export. They also requested the Centre to release subsidy dues under schemes such as technology upgradation funds (TUF) scheme, rebate of state levies (RoSL) and rebate of state and central taxes and levies (RoSCTL). “This has been accrued over the past six years. This has caused a capital crunch. There have been instances where the funds were not used properly. But it is just 4% to 5%. The Centre should release the funds,” he said. The representatives also said due to the US-China trade war, yarn imports from India were hit. “Yarn exports declined by 35% during April and August this year. The average monthly yarn export was 100 million kg. But in July, it had come down to 58 million kg,” said K V Srinivasan, Texprocil chairman. Aswhin Chandran, chairman of SIMA, said the state should not curtail open access to industrial units having less than 1MW, which was announced in a government order. “This would hit small textile units.” Banking facility for wind power for textile mills should be continued even after March 2020, the deadline announced by Tangedco, Chandran said. “Old windmills that are performing well should not be removed. They must be let to operate. If they are removed, we cannot invest to replace them,” he added.
Source: Times of India
The Wazir Textile Index (WTI) encompasses the highlights of the cumulative financial performance of the top Indian textile companies with respect to the market performance of the Indian textile sector for Q1 FY20.
By Wazir Advisors
WTI Sales was calculated to be 130.9 during Q1 FY20 (Base year FY16=100), which increased by 4% as compared to Q1 FY19. The WTI Cost for raw material (RM), employee and other expenses were 145.6, 148.1 & 120.1, respectively, in Q1 FY20. The WTI EBITDA was calculated to be 96.6 in Q1 FY 20, showing a notable growth of 8% from the value of 89.8 in Q1 FY19.
The consolidated sales of the selected top 10 companies was ₹10,107 crore in Q1 FY20 as compared to ₹9,694 crore in Q1 FY19, growing by 4 per cent y-o-y. As compared to Q1 FY19, average EBITDA margin increased marginally by 0.4 percentage points in Q1 FY20. Average RM cost decreased slightly by 0.3 percentage points, while the average employee cost increased by 0.3 percentage points in Q1 FY20 as compared to the same period during the previous financial year.
India’s GDP growth slackens in Q1 FY20
India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was ₹35.85 lakh crore in Q1 FY20, as against ₹34.14 lakh crore in Q1 FY19, witnessing a growth of only 5 per cent. Average Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for apparel increased significantly by 13 per cent in Q1 FY20 as compared to Q1 FY19, while that of textiles showed a marginal increase of 1 per cent. In Q1 FY20, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for textiles and apparel registered an increase of 4 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively.
Source: Fibre 2Fashion
Demanding the central and state governments to fix a price for yarns, powerloom owners from Chithode in Erode district went on an indefinite strike on Sunday. According to powerloom owners, fluctuation in yarn price may force the units to close, which would lead to loss of jobs to 10,000 people directly and directly. More than 3,000–4,000 powerloom units are functioning at Chithode, Thayirpalayam, Mamarathupalayam in Erode district, where grey cloths are produced. The grey cloths are sold to other states for making garments. The yarn price has been increasing day-by-day and the powerloom owners are not able to increase the rate of the grey cloths. So, they are forced to sale the cloths with a loss of at least Rs 5 for per metre
Source: Times of India
Creating a launchpad
Aimed at providing a launchpad to country's MSMEs to tap foreign markets, the MSME ministry is set to unveil an ecommerce platform on the lines of Amazon and Alibaba. This was announced recently by the Union MSME minister Nitin Gadkari. The digital platform, to be called, Bharat Craft, will be designed to emulate the success stories of the two ecommerce majors. The platform will be used to promote goods from Khadi and Village Industries, handloom and handicrafts, textiles, leather goods and other sectors.
Using effective marketing tools
Contributing 45% to manufacturing output and 40% of exports, the MSME employs around 120 million people. The absence of effective marketing tools and techniques is often regarded as the key impediments hurting the sector. "In the growth of China's business ecosystem, the role of Alibaba has been very effective and on similar lines, the MSME department, in association with the commerce ministry's GeM portal will launch this marketing platform," said Gadkari.
MSME: Backbone of Indian economy
The MSME sector is and regarded as the backbone of the Indian economy. It churns out over 6000 products which are highly sought after across the global marketplaces. It employs 40% of the country's workforce, next only to the agricultural sector. The sector has the potential to spread industrial growth across the country. According to Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS), the share of MSME related products in total export from India during 2018-19 stood at 48.10%.
Making MSMEs future ready
Underlining the need for keeping the sector in sync with the latest best practices, the Union MSME minister said that the recent times had highlighted the need to encourage research and innovation in the sector and collaborating with foreign firms to bring in the latest technology and promoting marketing ideas. For this a portal is being planned where people can post new ideas, suggestions and innovations. This will help develop a bank of innovation and ideas where all stakeholders can share their suggestions, technologies etc.
Hitting speed breakers
Due to lack of hand-holding by the government and other associations, the MSMEs have been struggling on many fronts, believes the World Association for Small and Medium Enterprises (WASME). "The three main structural problems that are affecting the growth of Indian to MSMEs are: Difficulty in availing credit facility, use of inferior technology and difficulty in accessing markets. They are not finding proper marketplaces to showcase their products. A lack of marketing strategy also makes it tough for them to compete against large players in volatile markets," feels Sanjiv Layek, WASME's Executive Secretary.
Source: Economic Times
Ambassador Shin Bong-Kil said after the meeting that South Korea and Odisha are making “a fresh start, having learnt their respective lessons from the Posco experience.” A South Korean business delegation led by the country’s ambassador met Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday to explore investment opportunities in the state, about two years after Korean steelmaker Posco abandoned its Jagatsinghpur investment plan over land acquisition and regulatory hurdles. Ambassador Shin Bong-Kil told reporters after the meeting that South Korea and Odisha are making “a fresh start, having learnt their respective lessons from the Posco experience.” In 2017, after a wait of more than a decade, state-backed Posco had abandoned its plan to set up a greenfield steel plant in the state with an investment of $12 billion, troubled with local protests over land acquisition, environmental issues, and legal wrangles in getting a mining lease. At Monday’s meeting, which saw Shin Bong-Kil and senior representatives of Hyundai, LG, KIA Motors, Samsung and some trade bodies meet Odisha officials, Posco was conspicuous by its absence. “Posco faced a lot of frustration in failing to set up a plant here. Posco is not just a steel or heavy industries company, but a technology company. They wanted to set up the most advanced technology–oriented steel plant. For whatever reasons it did not materialise,” said the ambassador. On the current downturn, he said that while car sales have slowed, it is a short-term phase which technology-driven Korean companies will survive. “We believe the sale of cars will go up. I don’t think it’s a long-term downturn. India is a very robust market and you have big companies like Tata and Mahindra, which has a unit in South Korea …Hyundai is the second biggest automaker here and now Kia Motors has set up a plant in Andhra Pradesh with an annual capacity of 300,000 units.” Ambassador Shin said Kia’s Seltos is selling very well in India with a booking of 50,000 units, which is a historic (booking) number for Kia. “Korean companies will do well because of the investment they make in technology, old technology cannot survive this type of world market,” he said. South Korean companies have almost no presence in Odisha. Kia Motors, a sister concern of Hyundai, chose to set up plants in Andhra Pradesh, which offered good investment environment and incentives, said ambassador Shin. Odisha, with its high economic growth rate, also looks promising to investors, he added. At the meeting, Odisha’s officials made a presentation that was translated in Korean. In a statement, Patnaik said that under ‘Vision 2030’ his government would ensure that half the primary metal produced in the state is processed further within the state. “Republic of Korea and Odisha have many possibilities to collaborate across the identified focus sectors of our state-- electronics manufacturing, chemicals and petrochemicals, textiles, tourism, metal an food processing,” said Patnaik. Under the Korea Caravan, a South Korean outreach programme, the Korea Taekwondo Association also performed at a city auditorium.
Source: Economic Times
Filatex India advanced 4.19% to Rs 39.80 after the company said that its Dahej unit expanded polymerization capacity and commenced commercial production on 19 September 2019.The company announced that commercial production of expansion scheme to increase its polymerization capacity of 150 tonnes per day (TPD) from 900 TPD to 1,050 TPD through de-bottlenecking and adding machines for producing 170 TPD of partially oriented yarn at Dahej unit in Gujarat commenced on 19 September 2019. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex surged 830.68 points or 2.19% to 38,845.30. Shares rose across the board after the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday, 20 September 2019, slashed corporate tax rate to 22% without exemptions. The effective corporate tax rate after surcharge now stands at 25.17%. The step has significant positive implications for corporates' profitability, broader economy and market valuations. As on 31 March 2019, Filatex India paid a corporate tax of 35.21%. On the BSE, 18,000 shares were traded in the counter so far compared with average daily volumes of 16 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 39.5 and a low of Rs 38.9 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 66.45 on 27 Nov 2018. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 33.75 on 01 Jul 2019. Filatex's net profit slipped 0.5% to Rs 20.03 crore on a 1.1% fall in the net sales to Rs 20.03 crore in Q1 June 2019 over Q1 June 2018. Filatex India (FIL) is engaged in manufacturing and trading of synthetic yarn and textiles. The company manufactures polyester and polypropylene multifilament yarn and polyester chips. Filatex's product offerings include complete range of filament, be it POY, DTY or FDY in semi dull, bright and colors of different shade, covering a wide range of coarse and fine denier.
Source: Business Standard
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1078.57 |
USD/Ton |
-0.65% |
9/23/2019 |
|
VSF |
1508.59 |
USD/Ton |
0.19% |
9/23/2019 |
|
ASF |
2163.49 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/23/2019 |
|
Polyester POY |
1109.59 |
USD/Ton |
-0.63% |
9/23/2019 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2361.58 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/23/2019 |
|
40D Spandex |
4088.71 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/23/2019 |
|
Nylon POY |
2594.22 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/23/2019 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
5329.42 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/23/2019 |
|
Polyester FDY |
1318.26 |
USD/Ton |
-0.21% |
9/23/2019 |
|
Nylon DTY |
2241.74 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/23/2019 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
2298.14 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/23/2019 |
|
Polyester DTY |
1254.81 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/23/2019 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2157.15 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/23/2019 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1670.73 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/23/2019 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2417.98 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/23/2019 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
1832.87 |
USD/Ton |
-0.76% |
9/23/2019 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2269.94 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/23/2019 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2425.03 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/23/2019 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2044.36 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
9/23/2019 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.25 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
9/23/2019 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.69 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
9/23/2019 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
0.97 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
9/23/2019 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.57 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
9/23/2019 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.66 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
9/23/2019 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14099 USD dtd. 23/09/2019). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
There is a growing pressure on exports to start delivering soon, but in the past two months marking the beginning of FY20, exports have merely grown by 3 percent with the textile group growing by 2 percent—the growth concentrated in higher value added goods like garments. Cotton yarn exports that used to be 10 percent of all textile exports last year have receded to 9 percent. Cumulatively, July and August 2019 exports of yarn fell by 8 percent year on year. In its quarterly report ending Mar-19, the SBP pointed out that the performance of the textile sector during FY19 did not reflect the concessions and incentive packages provided by the government. The rupee lost 25 percent of its value in FY19 against the US dollar, which did not translate to higher exports. An industry source argues that the rupee depreciation raised the cost of cotton (which serves as a raw material to yarn production), which more than offset any currency exchange gain. He added that international buyers were aware of the declining rupee value and bargained the contracts accordingly. The lower per unit price of cotton yarn exports in FY19 may corroborate this. During FY19, export price of cotton yarn was $2,595 per metric ton as opposed to the corresponding period where it stood at $2,626 per metric ton—a decline of 1 percent. Industry sources claim that these falling prices made domestic markets more viable with demand coming from garment manufacturers. Yarn prices grew 21 percent year on year locally during the July-Mar-19 period. A major yarn manufacturer Gadoon Textiles in its annual report while explaining a 19 percent drop in its exports during FY19 said: “In addition to the non-availability of export rebate for spinning segment this year, the trade war among world economies was another reason for declining export sales during this year which resulted in fewer orders from China to which Pakistan’s export of yarn is at a higher percentage”. In the two months of FY20, PBS data releases show that the price per metric ton of cotton yarn exports has declined by 10 percent while volumetric yarn exports actually grew by 2 percent. It seems the situation has not cleared. Pakistan exports more than 50 percent of its aggregate cotton yarn export to China. SBP cited the Chinese customs data in its report, stating a 17.2 percent drop in cotton and yarn imports by China in CY18. According to the SBP report, “[China] imposed additional retaliatory tariffs on its top yarn supplier, the United States (in July 2018). To make up for the resultant shortfall, China started unloading the sizable stockpile of cotton it had built up over the years to its ginning industry. At the same time, China diverted some of its import demand for higher count yarn to Brazil, Australia and India, which managed to increase their market shares, according to the USDA. However, due to a product mismatch, Pakistani exporters could not benefit from this shift in Chinese demand, as Pakistan’s ginning industry mostly produces low-count yarn, which is not widely used in apparel-making”. For now, domestic players have been able to shift their focus to the local demand. However, this demand may not grow too much. Eventually, yarn manufacturers will have to grow their exports and get competitive. No rupee devaluation will tackle that colossal task.
Source: Business Recorder
The global economy has become increasingly fragile and uncertain, with growth slowing and downside risks continuing to mount, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) latest Interim economic outlook, which says economic prospects are weakening for both advanced and emerging economies. Global growth could get stuck at persistently low levels without firm policy action from governments, the report says. Escalating trade conflicts are taking an increasing toll on confidence and investment, adding to policy uncertainty, aggravating risks in financial markets and endangering already weak growth prospects worldwide. The OECD projects that the global economy will grow by 2.9 per cent in 2019 and 3 per cent in 2020—the weakest annual growth rates since the financial crisis, with downside risks continuing to mount. The outlook covers all G20 economies and includes downward revisions to projections from the previous outlook released in May 2019 for almost all countries, particularly those most exposed to the decline in global trade and investment that has set in this year, according to an OECD press release. The report identifies the trade conflicts as the principal factor undermining confidence, growth and job creation across the world economy, and underlines that continuation of trade restrictions and political uncertainty could bring additional adverse effects. While solid consumer demand has supported service sector output to date, persistent weakness in manufacturing sectors and continuing trade tensions could weaken employment growth, household income and spending. Substantial uncertainty persists about the timing and nature of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, particularly as concerns a possible no-deal exit which could push the UK into recession in 2020 and lead to sectoral disruptions in Europe. Other risks, including the overall slowdown in the Chinese economy and significant financial market vulnerabilities from the tension between slowing growth, high debt and deteriorating credit quality, are also weighing on future growth. The report calls on central banks to remain accommodative in the advanced economies, but stresses that the effectiveness of monetary policy could be enhanced in many advanced economies if accompanied by stronger fiscal and structural policy support. It says fiscal policy should play a larger role in supporting the economy, by taking advantage of exceptionally low long-term interest rates for wider public investment to support near-term demand and future prosperity. Greater structural reform ambition is required in all economies to help offset the impact of the negative supply shocks from rising restrictions on trade and cross-border investment and enhance medium-term living standards and opportunities.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
For incoming European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, the U.S.-China trade war is the biggest threat to the global economy. Lagarde, who has run the International Monetary Fund since 2011 and was selected in July to replace Mario Draghi on Nov. 1, said the tariffs that the U.S. and China have slapped on each other’s goods are set to shave 0.8% off global economic growth in 2020. “That’s a massive number,” Lagarde said in an interview with CNBC’s Sara Eisen. “It’s fewer jobs. It’s less business going on. It’s less investment. It’s more uncertainty. It weighs like a big, dark cloud on the global economy.” “I think trade — threat against trade at the moment — is the biggest hurdle for the global economy, yes, indeed,” she added. Top trade negotiators from the U.S. and China are set to resume talks next month in Washington. The tit-for-tat tariff threats in the past year and a half have roiled financial markets and sparked concerns about a global recession. “The longer this lingers, the more uncertainty sinks in. And if you’re an investor, if you’re an enterprise, whether small, medium size or big, you’re not going to invest, you’re going to wait. You’re going to sit and wonder where the supply chains are going to be organized,” Lagarde said in the interview that aired Monday on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” Besides China, President Donald Trump has also threatened European partners, accusing them of protectionist measures. Most recently, after talks with EU leaders, Trump struck an upbeat tone on the prospects for a fair trade agreement without imposing threatened tariffs on car imports. “Europe and the United States have been friends for decades and centuries, have often, you know, been on the same side of the battlefield and have rescued each other on many occasions,” Lagarde said. “And I’m very grateful to the United States for that. It’s not a relationship that should turn into any kind of trade war at all.” During her tenure at the IMF, Lagarde oversaw bailout programs for Greece, Portugal and Ireland during the sovereign debt crisis that peaked in 2011 and 2012.
Source: CNBC
The treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, has joined Australia’s voice to a coalition of nations urging the US and China to abandon their trade war, arguing the entire global economy is suffering as a result. In a pointed plea that doesn’t mention the economic superpowers by name, but is unmistakably aimed at them, the treasurers and finance ministers of four middle-power nations – Australia, Canada, Singapore, and Indonesia – have warned “the risks of collateral damage are growing”. “We should not resort to unilateralism and protectionism,” the group write in an article on the website of Australian Strategic Policy Institute publication the Strategist. “Pursuing confrontation instead of dialogue will only exacerbate risks, erode confidence and weaken the prospect of global economic recovery. Compromise is key to achieving win–win outcomes and mutual trust.” While acknowledging that legitimate issues in the global trade system must be addressed, Frydenberg, the treasurer of Australia, Heng Swee Keat, deputy prime minister and finance minister of Singapore, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, finance minister of Indonesia, and Canadian finance minister Bill Morneau argue that uncertainty over the global outlook is forcing a slowdown in trade and manufacturing. “Financial-market volatility and currency instability are on the rise, amid declining capital flows to emerging economies. Deteriorating global trade conditions are affecting investor confidence, business spending and productivity. “We need to reverse course, and that requires acting collectively … we need to protect free and open markets.” The ministers said the multilateral system established after the end of the second world war “allows both big and small countries to fulfil their potential”. Australia, Canada and Indonesia are members of the G20. Singapore is a regular invitee to the forum as leader of the Global Governance Group of small to medium-sized economies. “The free flow of trade, investment and ideas has helped lift more people out of poverty than ever before,” the ministers write. “And the world’s growing middle classes are now broadening the opportunities for further exchange of goods, services and innovation.” The ministers argue the multilateral system, in particular bodies such as the G20, can return the global economy to a more transparent and cooperative environment. They cite the 2008 collective response to the global financial crisis and the 2015 measures to address multinational corporate tax avoidance as examples of international cooperation that had benefited all countries. “To restore lost confidence, our multilateral system needs newfound strength to withstand the complexity of our current circumstances.” The ministers’ remarks come as US president Donald Trump continues to escalate his rhetorical trade war against China, describing it as a “threat to the world” and arguing Beijing uses money made through unfair trade practices to boost its military spending. “Obviously, China is a threat to the world in a sense, because they’re building a military faster than anybody,” Trump said. “I view China in many different ways. But right now, I’m thinking about trade. But, you know, trade equals military.” Since July 2018, the US has imposed tariffs on US$360bn of Chinese goods and has plans to tax nearly all Chinese imports by the end of 2019. China has retaliated with tariffs on more than $110bn of US products. Signs of progress are undermined by setbacks. Last week, about 400 goods, including plastic straws, dog leashes and Christmas tree lights, were excluded by the US from tariffs. But a Chinese trade delegation hastily cancelled a planned visit to farms in Montana and Nebraska, a trip widely forecast as indication Beijing may have been prepared to increase its purchases of US agricultural products. As both countries prepare to return to high-level negotiations next month, Trump quashed speculation he might settle for an interim trade deal with China to boost the US economy in the lead-up to the presidential election next year. “I’m looking for a complete deal, I’m not looking for a partial deal. We’re looking for the big deal.”
The US is publicly burnishing its collegiate credentials, meeting with key allies in recent days. Trump has had effusive and high-profile public events with the Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, and the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, in the past week.
Source: The Guardian
The trading ecosystem of fake goods in Southeast Asia is rife, prompting Cambodia and Thailand to work together to stop the continuous rise of exchanging counterfeited products between the countries. According to the Phnom Penh Post, the two sides came together for the "Workshops for Thai Business in Cambodia on Countering Counterfeit Products" wherein attendees explored the possibilities in preventing fake goods to come through the countries. Among the fake products that abound in the counterfeit trading business are medicines, car components, textiles, electronic products, and even some types of food. Thai Ambassador to Cambodia, Panyarak Poolthub, said during the workshop that due to the increasing number of Thai investors coming to the kingdom of Cambodia for business, the efforts in preventing counterfeit goods from entering the country should be fiercer than ever. In 2018, the trade volume between both sides reached around $8.3 billion. The latest data for the first half of 2019 revealed that trade volume already reached $4.2 billion, which prompted officials to tackle potential issues involving fake goods. Poolthub noted that one side can't do the job alone. He encouraged the two countries to cooperate well in ensuring that fake goods are prevented from being traded. He said both the Cambodia Counterfeit Committee and the Thai Business Council agreed to unite for the said cause. For his part in the workshop, Cambodian Ministry of Interior Secretary of State, Meach Sophana, pointed out that imports have increased over the past years. However, reports on fake goods trading have also risen. Sophana, who is also the President of the Cambodian Counterfeit Committee, said that while counterfeiting of products may not be eliminated overnight, it is the two countries' responsibility to raise awareness about the risky trade. Aside from protecting the interests of both Thai and Cambodian businesspeople and customers, Sophana said keeping counterfeit products from entering the nations will be a huge attractive aspect for interested investors. Earlier this month, the ASEAN Post reported that the ASEAN region continues to battle with counterfeit medicines. In Cambodia, some fake medicine brands were found to have traces of ecstasy. The Pharmaceutical Security Institute (PSI) revealed that from 2013 to 2017, incidents of fake medicines were recorded all throughout the region. Thailand had 110 cases, Indonesia had 93, Vietnam had 49, and the Philippines recorded the most number of incidents with 193 cases. During the ASEAN Health Ministers' conference in Cambodia last month, Cambodian Defense Minister General Tea Banh noted that one of the biggest challenges the region has to resolve is the outright selling of counterfeit medicine and other goods online. To help reduce the incidents, Cambodia and Thailand have agreed to strengthen policies and regulations against counterfeit products for the good of citizens
Source: Business Times
