The goods and services tax (GST) rate on mobile phones and fabric may be hiked by the GST Council next week. This could be part of an exercise to correct the inverted tax structure and boost revenue collection. The structure of higher tax rates on inputs than on final products is resulting in a huge input tax credit outgo. Other items which have seen an inverted duty structure include fabric bags, shoes, tractors etc. The GST rate on mobile phones is 12 per cent, whereas that on phone parts and batteries is 18 per cent, triggering an inverted tax structure. That, in turn, leads to unutilised input tax credit and hence issuance of refunds by the government. In case of phones, a single manufacturer last year claimed a refund of close to Rs 4,100 crore. Pointing out that the issue of inverted tax structure is resulting in huge refunds outgo, a government official said that mobile phones and fabric could see GST rate rectification. A registered taxpayer can claim refund of unclaimed input tax credit on account of higher tax on input and lower tax on output. Similarly, fabric has a GST rate of 5 per cent, whereas different types of yarns are taxed at 12 per cent. Initially, the government had not allowed fabric manufacturers to claim input tax credit refunds, but later allowed refunds in the July 2018 meeting. “Input tax credit refunds should not have been allowed on fabric in the first place. It was a political call taken at that time. It should be addressed now,” said another official. The GST rate on fabric will likely be hiked to 12 per cent from 5 per cent to correct the inverted tax structure, if all state finance ministers agree. In fact, a sub-committee of officers from the Centre and some states has been constituted to compile a list of items where there’s an inverted tax structure. As for shoes, those priced under Rs 1,000 are taxed at 5 per cent, while the rate of non-woven fabric and leather is 12 per cent. Tractor parts are taxed at 28 per cent, and tractor at 12 per cent. M S Mani, partner, Deloitte India, said it was necessary to correct the inverted duty structures in certain sectors on account of multiple rate changes over the past two years. Changes in output rates were not always calibrated with the input rates, he said. Pratik Jain, partner PwC India, however, argued that increasing the rate on end product may not be a desirable option to resolve the problem of inverted duty structure in most cases, as items have been kept in the 5 per cent and 12 per cent bands in view of their importance and impact on common man. "Allowing the refund of GST paid on input services (as of now refund is restricted to inputs) is an option which should be explored, in addition to bringing down the rates on inputs, if possible." To meet GST shortfall of states, the Centre has sought suggestions for revenue augmentation including areas where inverted tax structure could be corrected and taken up by the Council. The Centre’s proposal to augment revenue includes raising the 5 per cent slab to anywhere between 6 and 8 per cent, and doing away with the 12 per cent slab. However, it has found few takers among states as it will have an adverse impact on mass consumption products. Increasing the GST rate on certain items in the 5 per cent band to 12 per cent, and those in 12 per cent to 18 per cent is another option being discussed.
Source: The Business Standard
Youngone Corporation, a Korean textile and apparel company, will invest ₹900 crore at the Kakatiya Mega Textile Park (KMTP) at Warangal. The 290-acre facility is expected to generate 12,000 jobs. The firm will make knitted and woven garments and technical textile products, predominantly for exports. The Korean company, with annual revenues of over $1.75 billion, has operations in 13 countries, including in the US, Switzerland, Bangladesh and Vietnam. The firm signed the final agreement with the State Government on Wednesday for infusing the funds in the textile park. Indian Ambassador to Korea, Sripriya Ranganathan; Korean Ambassador to India, Shin Bongkil; and Telangana Information Technology and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao were present at the signing of the agreement. KT Rama Rao said that the anchor investment by the Youngone Corp will catalyse more investments from Korea.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
Even as a large part of the cotton growing region in Gujarat faces pink bollworm infestation, casting a shadow on the crop outlook, the improved prospects in Maharashtra and Telangana, will help India retain its overall cotton output for the 2019-20 season at 354.5 lakh bales (each of 170 kg). The apex cotton trade body, the Cotton Association of India (CAI), has retained its crop estimate in its November estimates. "The crop estimate for Gujarat state, the top domestic producer, has been reduced by 4 lakh bales on account of crop damage due to heavy rains and pink bollworm infestation. About 10 per cent of the cotton farmers in the state have uprooted their cotton plants and wish to migrate to other competing crops," said Atul Ganatra, President, CAI, on Wednesday. According to CAI estimates, Gujarat's cotton crop, earlier estimated at 100 lakh bales, has now been cut to 96 lakh bales. There is also a dip in the production estimated from North India, including Rajasthan and Punjab. On the other hand, the output in Maharashtra and Telangana has been raised higher by 3 lakh bales each, to 83 lakh bales and 51 lakh bales, respectively. The Crop Committee of the Cotton Association of India met on December 9 to discuss the crop outlook and market situation. Cotton arrivals during October and November are estimated at 56.15 lakh bales. Import shipments from October 1, 2019, to November 30, 2019, which have reached Indian ports, are estimated at 5 lakh bales, while the balance 20 lakh bales is estimated to arrive in the ports between December 1, 2019, and September 30, 2020 (total imports estimated during the entire season is 25 lakh bales). On the exports front, cotton shipments during October 1, 2019, to November 30, 2019, stood at 5 lakh bales. The total exports for the year are projected at 42 lakh bales. However, the global consumption outlook remains bleak, which will keep global cotton prices under check, leaving little room for price movement in Indian cotton. At its 78th Plenary Meeting held in Brisbane, Australia, during December 2-5 2019, the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) noted that global economic growth is slowing, which will cap growth in cotton consumption during 2019-20. "Trade barriers and trade disputes have weakened import and export growth and have positioned the global economy in a synchronised economic slowdown that has reduced the pace of manufacturing and investment. Trade disputes create uncertainty for businesses and lower investment activity and trade deals. Quick resolutions are, therefore, needed to return confidence to the market," ICAC noted. Cotton prices in the domestic markets hovered around Rs 41,900 per candy (of 356 kg ginned cotton of 29 mm variety). Raw cotton prices hovered around Rs 4,300-Rs 5,150 per quintal in the Gujarat markets, against the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 5,550 announced by the Centre.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
The government’s decision to withdraw by the year-end the additional 2 per cent incentive given to exporters under the popular Merchandise Export from India Scheme, is likely to hit shipments of agricultural goods, marine products, carpets, leather, handicrafts, electronics, as well as engineering goods. "The withdrawal of additional benefit under MEIS doesn't augur well for a situation where exports are already down because of low global demand and intense competition from countries such as Bangladesh and Vietnam. As this will hit labour-intensive sectors such as farm and marine products, carpets and handicrafts, leather goods, as well as electronics and engineering items, it may also result in more job losses in the country," a Delhi-based industry official told BusinessLine. Last week, a notification issued by the Directorate-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) stated that the additional 2 per cent MEIS announced for various products last May and August, will be available only till December 31, 2019, except for garments and made-ups. “The main problem with the sudden withdrawal of the additional incentive is that exporters have orders in the pipeline, the prices for which have been finalised factoring in the benefit. It may not be possible for exporters to ship all the orders by December 31. If there is a delay beyond the stipulated date, they will lose the additional benefit and may have to suffer losses,” the official said. Exporters of electronics have already reached out to the finance, IT and Commerce Ministries, pointing out the problem they would face because of the government’s sudden move. They also warned of possible job losses as companies may have to lower their manpower. “Electronics exporters have an additional problem with the MEIS withdrawal as the replacement scheme that is being planned by the government will not fetch them an incentive higher than 2 per cent, as there is hardly any electricity consumption or other such expenditure of the sector, which could be compensated through the new scheme,” the official said. The DGFT’s notification, however, did not mention discontinuation of the regular MEIS scheme under which incentives of 2 per cent, 3 per cent and 5 per cent of the export value is provided to various sectors. The Finance Ministry had earlier said the MEIS scheme, which is not compatible with WTO norms, will be replaced by Remission of Duties or Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) from January 1, 2020. “We think the MEIS will continue at least till the end of the current fiscal. The new scheme may be part of the new Foreign Trade Policy that is expected from April 1, 2020,” the official said. In April-October 2019-20, exports fell 2.39 per cent to $185.95 billion, while imports declined 8.37 per cent to $280.67 billion.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
In a radical change, the government is considering moving to the chain base method of calculating gross domestic product, from the current practice of a fixed base year to better reflect changes in the economy and prevent controversies. The ministry of statistics and programme implementation is exploring the idea of a chain base index, where national account statistics or GDP estimates are compared with those of the previous period, instead of a fixed base revised every five years.
The chain base method will capture structural changes in the economy faster by allowing new activity and items to be added every year. Current GDP estimates are based on data for 2011-12 and are due for an update. “This is the international practice – first reduce your timeline from a 10-year revision to a five-year revision, which we shifted to but the ideal is every year. This improves the indicator,” said an official aware of the development. “The advantage is that new items and factories which are producing can be introduced. In a five-year revision, it takes 7-8 years to get reflected.” While discussions on changes are on, no time-frame has been set for a shift. The statistics office junked the idea of shifting to 2017-18 as base year as it was not considered a normal year. The government faced flak when the GDP Series was revised to 2011-12 from 2004-05 and released in 2015 and attracted criticism after GDP growth for FY17, the year of demonetisation, was revised to 8.2% from 7.1%. Besides the new base year, the methodology was changed to capture information on the corporate sector from the ministry of corporate affairs MCA-21database. The US shifted to the chain base or chain-weighted index in 1996 and other developed countries followed. In most cases, the shift resulted in significant changes in the numbers of the preceding year, indicating the better outcome produced by this method. In a fixed base index, weight assigned to various economic activities and goods stays unchanged even if the economy changes structurally. Besides, this method does not factor in relative changes in prices and impact on demand. In a chain-weighted index, changes are incorporated annually to adjust changes quickly. For instance, it can be argued that current GDP statistics do not fully capture India’s gig economy. “With 60% of India’s GDP coming from services, a chain based index will capture the changes faster and reflect the realities better than a fixed base. Most developed countries, including the US and those in Europe, follow this practice,” said a former member of the National Statistical Commission. Such an index will make it easier to compare India’s growth with other countries, said Abheek Barua, chief economist at HDFC Bank. “Consequently, taking decisions on investments and fund flows, where differentials are concerned, would become rigorous,” Barua said. “This should be done soon but the problem is of inter-temporal comparability because we have never used chain-based index before,” said former chief statistician Pronab Sen. The shift would require much better data collection with quick addition of new businesses, goods and establishments. This would impose a burden on the data collection machinery as well as the respondents. “If you want frequency, you have to reduce the respondent burden and may have to compromise on the details,” the official said. As per Sen, while the moving index will show growth closer to the nominal number, its difference from real growth would depend on weights assigned to elements. “The problem is that the government does not have volume data for the previous year. However, this can be overcome by using weights that are a year older. Chaining means fixed frequency. So, they can fix weights,” Sen said. “It needs to be seen if growth rates in the chain-based index are closer to nominal or real because it is not necessary if it creates a differential,” said NR Bhanumurthy, professor, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.
Source: The Economic Times
Economic affairs secretary Atanu Chakraborty had on December 3 tweeted that S&P has reaffirmed sovereign rating at BBB- with stable outlook. “They have stated that India’s economy continues to achieve impressive long-term growth rates despite a recent deceleration," Chakraborty had said in his tweet. India’s long term economic outperformance remains intact, despite relatively weaker growth expectations this fiscal year, the agency said. “If this recovery does not materialise, and it becomes clear that India's structural growth has significantly deteriorated, we could lower the rating," said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Andrew Wood. This year looks particularly difficult for the general government’s fiscal position given the sluggish revenue resulting from pected impact of the corporate tax cuts, the report mentioned. However, the global rating agency counted the tax cut as a positive step towards addressing structural weaknesses in the economy as it expected private investment to pick up as a result. Moody’s Investors Service downgraded India’s outlook to negative from stable in November though it rates the country a notch higher than S&P. S&P has downgraded forecast for India’s GDP growth to 5.1% for FY20. The economy expanded 4.5% in July-September, slowing for a sixth straight quarter.
Source: The Economic Times
Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday told Parliament on that so far the cumulative exports under the Generalised System of Preference (GSP) tariff lines have not declined in the post GSP withdrawal period (June – Oct 2019) as compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. In 2018, India exported goods worth of $6.3 billion (as per USTR figures) to the US under the GSP, which was around 12.1 per cent of India’s total export to the US. The average duty concessions accruing on account of GSP were almost $240 million in 2018, which was about 3.8 per cent of India’s exports to the US availing the GSP benefits. The impact varies across products, depending on the individual product level concessions which were availed under the GSP. Under the GSP, certain products can enter the US duty-free if beneficiary developing countries meet the eligibility criteria established by their Congress. GSP criteria include, among others, respecting arbitral awards in favour of American citizens or corporations, combating child labour, respecting internationally recognized worker rights, providing adequate and effective intellectual property protection, and providing the US with equitable and reasonable market access. Countries can also be graduated from the GSP program depending on factors related to their economic development. The US launched an eligibility review of India’s compliance with the GSP market access criterion in April 2018. The petitions filed by the US dairy and the medical devices industry were also included in this review, which alleged that Indian trade barriers affected American exports in these sectors. “During the process of GSP review, USTR added various demands including greater market access for a number of its products and used the non-reciprocal GSP benefit as a lever to extract further concessions from India,” Goyal said. Though India took its best efforts to arrive at a mutually beneficial trade package, the US review culminated in issuance of withdrawal notice by the US on March 4, 2019 and GSP benefits was withdrawn with effect from June 5.
The US indicated that it withdrew the GSP for India under Section 502 of its Trade Act of 1974 citing that India did not provide equitable and reasonable access to its markets in numerous sectors. In a separate reply, Goyal said the government is in favour of a stable export policy for the farm products and the decision to impose export restrictions on a farm product is based on a number of factors such as domestic supply and price position, concerns of food security, need to balance between remunerative prices to the growers and availability of agricultural products to at affordable prices. Among the major agricultural products, restrictions exist on export of mustard oil, which is allowed to be exported only in branded consumer packs of up to 5 Kg subject to a Minimum Export Price of USD 900 per MT. The export of onions has been prohibited with effect from September 29. In addition, the export of a number of seed varieties is restricted.
Source: The Economic Times
The government has carried out a number of reforms in various sectors and it is a continuous process for improvement in the economy, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. He said some of the reforms were by way of amendments in various acts such as the Finance (Amendment) Bills, the Special Economic Zones (Amendment) Bill, amendments in the Goods and Services Tax Act and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. "The government has already carried out a number of reforms in various sectors and the reform process is a continuous process for improvement in the economy," Goyal said during the Question Hour. He said as regards reforms in the tax system, it is stated that through the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019 (the Ordinance), corporate tax rates were reduced to 22 per cent plus the applicable surcharge and cess for all domestic corporate persons not claiming any deduction or incentive. Further, an option was given to any new domestic manufacturing company incorporated on or after October 1, 2019 to avail lower corporate tax rates of 15 per cent, with the applicable surcharge and cess, without claiming any deduction or incentive as per subsection (2) of section 115BAB of the Act, provided they commence manufacturing or production of an article or thing by March 31, 2023, Goyal said.
Source: The Economic Times
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has slashed India's GDP growth to 5.1% for FY19, down from 6.5%. The bank has also cut its FY20 forecast to 6.5%, down from 7.2%, according to a supplement in its Asian Development Outlook 2019 Update. The downward revision comes on the back of risk aversion and a credit crunch in the economy resulting from the IL&FS crisis in August 2018. The report also cited slumping consumption due to slow job growth and rural distress aggravated by a poor harvest as
factors weighing down on the Indian economy. The report has underpinned supportive policies for its FY20 estimate. The bank has also revised its estimates for China’s GDP growth to 6.1% this year and 5.8% next year, down from its September forecast of 6.2% and 6% for this year and the next respectively. Slowing global activity due to US-China trade tensions and weak domestic demand were the main cause of the revision, said the report. However, growth is expected to accelerate should the US and China reach an agreement on trade. The slowing down of the region’s two major economies has impacted the growth of the developing Asia region, with the ADB trimming its growth forecast to 5.2% for both 2019 and 2020 for the region, down from its earlier estimates of 5.4% this year and 5.5% for the next year. While growth rates are still solid in developing Asia, persistent trade tensions have taken a toll on the region and are still the biggest risk to the longer-term economic outlook. Domestic investment is also weakening in many countries, as business sentiment has declined,” said ADB Chief Economist, Yasuyuki Sawada. Rising food inflation in both these economies has also impacted the ADB’s inflation forecast for the region, causing an upward revision to 2.8% this year and 3.1% for the next year, from its September estimate of 2.7% for both the years. “Inflation, on the other hand, is ticking up on the back of higher food prices, as African swine fever has raised pork prices significantly,” Sawada said. Other factors affecting the region’s growth are the continued political crisis in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong is already in a technical recession with the economy expected to contract 1.3% this year and grow at 0.3% next year, according to the report. Declining exports and weaker investments in Singapore and Thailand have also adversely impacted the regions growth.
Source: The Economic Times
India is eyeing an additional $1.5 billion worth of shipments in various sectors including defence, textiles and bicycles. New Delhi has also been promoting ethnic products like Khadi and Alphonso mangoes. Underlining the importance of “south-south” cooperation, a top diplomat of Argentina asserts that the relations between the two countries have the potential to grow further. Keen to expand its export basket to Argentina, India is eyeing an additional $1.5 billion worth of shipments in various sectors including defence, textiles and bicycles. New Delhi has also been promoting ethnic products like Khadi and Alphonso mangoes. Both countries boast of strong cooperation in international forums, and have now identified more areas for strengthening relations. According to Daniel Chuburu, ambassador of Argentina to India said “India is a very important partner for us. Both food and energy security, people to people as well as tourism are important for further deepening the relationship. As far as food security is concerned, we are keen on establishing a relationship with India.” “We are celebrating 70 years of bilateral relations and this year at the end of bilateral talks between our former President Mauricio Macri and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 10 agreements were signed in various sectors including agriculture, energy, and defence. Argentina has also joined the International Solar Alliance (ISA) led by India,” he added. India recently received the first shipment of the Tucumán-grown `Eureka’ lemons from Argentina. This came under the agreement which was inked earlier this year. This is the first time India has imported Argentinean lemons which are available across supermarkets and restaurants in major Indian cities and the South American nation will also export containers of other products including chia seeds, fresh eggs, egg products, fish meal and bone meal. Next year India will receive around 500 metric tonnes of Eureka Lemons which is juicer and almost three times the size of the lime available in the Indian market. While talks are on for getting pulses from there, apples and pears are already in the Indian market. Between 2017-18 India exported goods including organic chemicals, vehicles and auto parts, lubricants, machinery, sound and image devices and garments for $708.7 million. And imported soybean oil, petroleum, copper, sunflower oil, leather, wool and ferroalloys from Argentina for close to $ 2.2 billion. In fact, soybean oil makes up for almost 90 per cent of Argentinean exports to India which the new government of that country will now try to diversify. The effort is to promote tourism and people to people connect. According to Chuburu, “Next week as part of celebrations, the embassy at an event in New Delhi showcase typical Argentinean sweets, wines, fresh fruits, and Yerba Mate tea. It is also a platform to promote the most tourist destinations there, as well as its unique culture, formed by its gastronomy, the fascinating Tango dance, and its music.” Adding, “It will be a great opportunity to learn more about this South-American country, and hopefully to encourage new businesses and improve the current bilateral relations with India, which have become more and more promising in the last few years.”
Source: The Financial Express
The rupee appreciated by 7 paise to settle at a fresh one-month high of 70.85 against the US dollar on Wednesday on the back of firm domestic equities and easing crude oil prices, extending its winning run for the sixth straight session. Forex traders said the domestic unit gained ground ahead of the release of key macro-economic numbers on Thursday. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 70.87 against the US dollar. During the day, the domestic unit fluctuated between a high of 70.74 and a low of 70.94. The local unit finally settled the day at 70.85, up 7 paise over its last close.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
Advanced Chemical Industries (ACI), one of the largest Bangladeshi conglomerates, has expressed interest to import grey fabrics and yarn from Pakistani companies, which would help Pakistani companies reclaim Bangladesh’s textile market. An official at the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) said a meeting between Pakistan’s trade mission and ACI’s top official was held last month, wherein ACI expressed intention to start imports from Pakistan. ACI, being one of the largest conglomerates in Bangladesh with a multinational heritage operates across the country through its four diversified strategic business units. The official said the proposal in this regard had been forwarded to the Ministry of Commerce and Textile for further deliberations. Bangladesh is a huge market, while Pakistan’s exports to the third-largest Muslim country were only $57.63 million in September 2019.
Source: The News
A new organization of cotton stakeholders aims to help the U.S. cotton sector further improve its sustainability. The inaugural board of directors has been named for the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol (Trust Protocol), a new standard developed to assess the cotton production industry’s performance against specific sustainability goals. Through robust data inputs, the Trust Protocol intends to add confidence throughout the supply chain – positioning U.S. cotton as the responsible choice for mills and retailers. The appointees include delegates from across the entire supply chain, leading industry, scientific and academic experts as well as representatives from world renowned environmental organizations. “We are proud to announce the appointment of the Trust Protocol’s first-ever board of directors. This group of individuals bring unmatched expertise within the cotton industry, a thorough understanding of the sustainability challenges facing the textile industry and experience within the retail sector,” said Ken Burton, Trust Protocol executive director. “Working together, the board will ensure the Protocol will meet sustainability requirements throughout the supply chain and provide an unmatched level of transparency and accountability.”
Directors representing the raw cotton industry include:
Producers – Matt Coley (Georgia); Ted Schneider (Louisiana); Shawn Holladay (Texas); and Aaron Barcellos (California);
Ginner – David Blakemore (Missouri);
Marketing Cooperative – Hank Reichle (Mississippi);
Merchant – Steve Dyer (Tennessee);
Cottonseed – Fred Serven (Tennessee);
Manufacturer – Jim Martin (North Carolina);
Brands/Retailers – Liza Schillo, Levi Strauss & Co., and Joe Little, Tesco;
Suzy Friedman, Environmental Defense Fund; Melissa Ho, the World Wildlife Fund; Marty Matlock, the University of Arkansas; and Garry Bell, formerly with Gildan.
Trust Protocol advisors include: Jesse Daystar, Cotton Incorporated; Andy Jordan, Jordan Consulting; Marc Lewkowitz, Supima; Mark Pryor, The Seam; and Mike Quinn, Frontier Spinning Mills.
After initiation of a pilot earlier this year, full implementation is scheduled for 2020 for the Trust Protocol, which is aimed at helping U.S. cotton achieve a set of national sustainability goals for 2025:
13% increase in productivity, i.e. reduced land use per pound of fiber;
18% increase in irrigation efficiency;
39% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions;
15% reduction in energy expenditures;
50% reduction in soil loss;
30% increase in soil carbon.
Source: Homes Textiles Today
China will adopt a slew of measures, including tax and fiscal policies, to give full play to the role of border trade in stabilising foreign trade and to ensure border trade achieves results like facilitating employment, improving livelihood, alleviating poverty, enhancing bilateral ties and furthering domestic ethnic unity, the commerce ministry said. The measures include value-added tax exemption policy and simplified declaration process for small-scale border trade exports at pilot areas, and properly increasing amounts of local government bonds in border areas, to support infrastructure construction in border (cross-border) economic cooperation zones and key development and opening-up pilot zones, according to information posted on the website of the economic and commercial counsellor’s office of the Chinese Embassy in South Africa. Construction land permissions will be granted to border (cross-border) economic cooperation zones on a priority basis, and the authorities will also encourage development of ‘internet plus border trade’, to reduce transaction costs, broaden border trade channels, and expand border trade scale, as well as the establishment of e-commerce platforms at border regions to promote new businesses and models for border trade. Border marketplaces will be encouraged to improve their functions for commodities display, marketing, wholesale, retail and distribution, and clusters of trade centres that respectively trade on special products from neighbouring countries and products with Chinese characteristics will be cultivated, based on existing key border trade commodities marketplaces. Besides, the law on the administration of barter trade between border residents will be revised, to clarify barter trade scope, forms, transaction subjects, place and modes, and supervision method, and a negative list on imports of barter trade will be published.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
US President Donald Trump does not want to implement the next round of scheduled tariffs against Chinese goods on December15, but wants ‘movement’ from China to avoid them, US agriculture secretary Sonny Perdue recently said. China’s assistant commerce minister Ren Hongbin hoped for a trade deal with the United States as soon as possible before the new tariffs kick in. Both the countries have been embroiled in a 17-month trade war. "I don't think the president wants to implement these new tariffs, but there has got to be some movement on their part to encourage him not to do that," Perdue said. "And hopefully the signal they sent over soy and pork reductions might be that signal," global newswires quoted Perdue as telling a National Grain and Feed Association conference in Indianapolis. “On the question of China-U.S. trade talks and negotiations, we wish that both sides can, on the foundation of equality and mutual respect, push forward negotiations, and in consideration of each others’ core interests, reach an agreement that satisfies all sides as soon as possible,” Ren said. Beijing said last week it would waive import tariffs for some shipments of soybean and pork from the United States but did not specify quantities. China has demanded that some of the existing US tariffs imposed on about $375 billion worth of its exports be removed, in addition to cancellation of the December 15 tariffs on some $156 billion of its remaining exports to the United States. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said last week the two sides had talked almost daily, but there were no plans at present for face-to-face talks or a signing ceremony between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
