The Commerce and Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal has called for all nations to enhance transparency in their trade and build trust to prevent losing their role as a preeminent trade partner. Addressing the 10th BRICS Trade Ministers virtual Meeting today, he said that for trade to play its part in the recovery process, all the partners must be trustworthy and transparent. “It is trust and transparency which determines the sustainability of global supply chains and nations must demonstrate their compliance with global rules of trade to remain a part of global trade flow. Increasingly, nations which trust each other are coming together to build global supply chains with corresponding investments in manufacturing and services,” he said. The Minister said that the ongoing crisis has exposed the world to vulnerabilities, forcing us to explore ways to support each other. He said that Trade can be an engine of reviving growth in such a scenario and this is premised on strengthening of the WTO based on its principles of openness, fairness, transparency, inclusivity, and non-discrimination. The Minister called for removing multiple hurdles in access to medicines at affordable prices created by the lopsided WTO rules for protecting intellectual property. He mentioned that the TRIPS Agreement did not envisage a pandemic where demand for vaccines and medicines would come from several countries simultaneously, with the requirement changing at a rapid pace. He said that IPRs should not block access to critical medicines and other devices required for the treatment of the disease. Shri Goyal said that the pandemic has quite paradoxically provided us with a window of opportunity - to strengthen ourselves by building capacities, expanding manufacturing as well as plugging into the global value chains. The Minister said that as BRICS members are among the most affected countries in the world, we must collectively demonstrate a determined will to emerge stronger, while being prepared to face any such unknown crisis. Shri Goyal said that the multilateral rules-based trading system is facing serious and grave challenges, including a spate of unilateral measures and countermeasures, deadlock in key areas of negotiations and an impasse in the Appellate Body. He said that for a large majority of WTO members, preserving its fundamental principles and objectives is crucial to ensuring the credibility of the multilateral trading system. He said that the WTO reform process should take into account these existing realities in the world and should, therefore, be inclusive, balanced and consensus based, leading to prosperity for all. He said “It is disheartening that we are seeing some proposals at the WTO seeking to ride on the pandemic for pursuing commercial ends. It will essentially support the quest of developed countries' firms to have unhindered access to the markets in developing countries, while putting constraints on developing countries to establish domestic manufacturing capacities.” Describing 2020 as a turning point in the history of multilateralism, especially for the BRICS grouping, the Minister said that any economic partnership must keep in mind the different size and population of each country, unequal levels of economic development and human development indicators, contrasting levels of prosperity, cultural diversity and significantly different political and judicial systems. He said that we place humanity at the centre of our global engagement and thus despite being hit hard by the virus ourselves, we have not shied away from providing humanitarian relief to those who sought it. India provided critical medical supplies to around 150 countries in these troubled times. As the ‘Pharmacy of the World’ we have catered to the spike in demand for drugs such as Hydroxychloroquine and Paracetamol being used for the treatment of Covid-19. Talking about India’s proactive role in assessing and dealing with the challenges caused by the pandemic, he said that saving lives has been India’s highest priority. “Despite being home to nearly 17% of the world population, we have only 8% of COVID-19 affected patients worldwide. Under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime minister Narendra Modi, we implemented one of the severest lockdowns at an early stage thereby breaking the Corona Virus transmission chain and prepared the country to become self-reliant in Covid Care facility. We have done significantly better than many other countries, with a lower death rate and higher recovery rate.” As a response to the pandemic, India has significantly enhanced its capacities in the healthcare sector with the development of healthcare facilities, emergency rooms, provision of protective equipment and medical supplies, and training of healthcare professionals. Our people are also sensitized to maintain social distancing and wear face masks in public at all times. About the steps taken to mitigate the economic challenges posed by the pandemic and bring economy back on track, Shri Goyal said that Prime Minister announced a stimulus package of over $300 billion, called Aatma Nirbhar Bharat, which is defined as a SelfReliant India, which includes fiscal and monetary measures. He said that the edifice of this mission stands on five pillars of the economy: massive infrastructure building, technology, aspects of good governance, leveraging the demographic dividend, and promoting demand. Calling upon BRICS to support responsible investment, Shri Goyal said that it should be aimed at balanced outcomes and creates gains even for recipient countries and, most importantly, employment generation. The Minister said that amidst this turmoil, the BRICS nations must prepare, act and stand in solidarity with each other and seize the opportunities that come our way to build a strong, resilient, and reformed trading system that lays the foundation for our shared aspirations.
Source: PIB
On Wednesday, chief economic adviser Krishnamurthy V Subramanian had said that the government is initiating more fiscal measures to reverse the sharp growth slide, which has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Last month the government extended the free grain scheme by another five months through November, with a potential subsidy of another Rs 90,000 crore. Niti Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar on Friday said that the Centre may announce more fiscal stimulus measures in the next three to four months to prop up demand in the economy. “There is a possibility of the government having another round of stimulus in the coming three to four months, if one finds there is a slack in demand, as a result of which capacity utilisation is not improving,” Kumar said in a public interaction on Twitter. On Wednesday, chief economic adviser Krishnamurthy V Subramanian had said that the government is initiating more fiscal measures to reverse the sharp growth slide, which has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Speaking at a virtual Ficci event, the CEA said economic uncertainties will substantially ease once a credible Covid-19 vaccine is rolled out in, say, about two months. That is when consumers will likely start discretionary spending and investors will respond, he said, hinting at possible intervention around the time discretionary expenditure, battered by the pandemic, shows signs of a recovery. Analysts say of the Rs 21-lakh-crore relief package, real fiscal intervention is only to the tune of Rs 1-1.1 lakh crore; the rest are mostly in the form of credit guarantee and liquidity-enhancing measures. Of course, last month the government extended the free grain scheme by another five months through November, with a potential subsidy of another Rs 90,000 crore.
Source: Financial Express
BIS, which deals with marking and certication of goods, is also revamping its website, incorporating quality standards and information about the international norms to be followed while importing. The government has asked Bureau ofIndian Standards (BIS) to prescribe mandatory standards for imported goods, in line with international norms for quality, in a move that is expected to impact the import of Chinese goods that are deemed non-essential. “Recently, commerce ministry has given us a list of imports and asked to frame standards in accordance with international norms to lter quality imports. We are examining the existing norms and upgrading it if needed,” said a senior oicial at BIS, India’s national standards body under the department of consumer affairs. BIS, which deals with marking and certication of goods, is also revamping its website, incorporating quality standards and information about the international norms to be followed while importing. “The new look website will be launched soon. It will help manufacturers and importers to know the procedures and norms to be followed to market any product in India,” the oicial said BIS has more than 25,000 quality standards for dierent products and services but only around 150 products are under mandatory certication. “Most products are under voluntary registration only, which allows import of products not conforming with quality standards. Now, more products may be put under mandatory certication to discourage import of non-essential goods. This will promote the spirit of Atmanirbhar Bharat by relying more on domestic production,” he said. India imports around 11,500 types of goods every year with commodities like crude oil, gold, electronic goods, fertilisers, machine tools, plastic goods, metal, toys and pharmaceutical products topping the chart. “BIS is formulating technical regulations for at least half of these products for quality imports. Around 400 goods are on our priority list,” he said. He said that China would be the most aected country under stricter norms as most of the cheaper imports are from China.
Source: Economic Times
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI : Thousands of Indian exporters have been hit hard by new tax regulations, forcing some to close as doing business becomes more difficult. New Delhi said in June it had identified thousands of exporters that had claimed tax rebates based on bogus invoices and would require them to submit receipts before issuing refunds. But the process has hit legitimate businesses, already struggling with a fall in orders since March amid a nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to interviews with five exporters. The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), a lobby group, said in a letter to the finance ministry that many businesses were being tagged as "risky" without being offered any explanation. Some businesses had been harassed by tax officials and asked to submit up to 1,500 documents to prove they were complying with the new regulations, said Ajay Sahai, director general of FIEO. "Putting together these documents during the lockdown isn't an easy task, causing further delays," said Khalid Khan, another FIEO official, and an exporter from Mumbai. The delays have led to trade volumes dipping by 2-3% every month since January, resulting in a loss of billions of dollars, according to data from the trade body. Government data show merchandise exports fell 36.71% in April-June from a year earlier to $51.32 billion. Industry sources cite the lockdown and new rules for the slump. The finance ministry did not respond to a request for comment. The government last month said only 3.5% of India's 142,000 exporters had been identified as "risky" and after verification tax benefits for genuine exporters would be released within a month. Mayank Gupta, joint secretary of the Indian Industries Association, a lobby group of small manufacturers, said the tax department was delaying the consignments of many exporters by 15-20 days. “Many exporters have stopped exporting as they are working on very thin margins and are unable to meet the demands for producing so many documents,” said Gupta, an exporter of garment accessories to the Middle East and Europe.
Source: Economic Times
The Government of India today amended the General Financial Rules 2017 to enable imposition of restrictions on bidders from countries which share a land border with Indiaon grounds of defence of India, or matters directly or indirectly related thereto including national security.The Department of Expenditure has, under the said Rules, issued a detailed Order on public procurement to strengthen the defence of India and national security. As per the Order any bidder from such countries sharing a land border with India will be eligible to bid in any procurement whether of goods, services (including consultancy services and non-consultancy services) or works (including turnkey projects) only if the bidder is registered with the Competent Authority.The Competent Authority for registration will be the Registration Committee constituted by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). Political and security clearance from the Ministries of External and Home Affairs respectively will be mandatory. The Order takes into its ambit public sector banks and financial institutions, Autonomous Bodies, Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs)and Public Private Partnership projects receiving financial support from the Government or its undertakings. State Governments too play a vital role in national security and defence of India. The Government of India has written to the Chief Secretaries of the State Governments invoking the provisions of Article 257(1) of the Constitution of India for the implementation of this Order in procurement by State Governments and state undertakings etc. For State Government procurement, the Competent Authority will be constituted by the states but political and security clearance will remain necessary. Relaxation has been provided in certain limited cases, including for procurement of medical supplies for containment of COVID-19 global pandemic till 31st December 2020. By a separate Order, countries to which Government of India extends lines of credit or provides development assistance have been exempted from the requirement of prior registration. The new provisions will apply to all new tenders. In respect of tenders already invited, if the first stage of evaluation of qualifications has not been completed, bidders who are not registered under the new Order will be treated as not qualified. If this stage has been crossed, ordinarily the tenders will be cancelled and the process started de novo. The Order will also apply to other forms of public procurement. It does not apply to procurement by the private sector.
Source: PIB
Gross direct tax mop-up (personal income tax and corporate taxes) in the first quarter hit 77% of such tax collected in the same period last year. The finance ministry on Thursday exuded confidence that the Covid-battered economy will witness a “V-shaped recovery” as early as next fiscal, even though some established agencies forecast a sharp contraction of up to 7% for FY21. Economic affairs secretary Tarun Bajaj indicated that the Centre’s revenue position isn’t as dire as touted to be in some quarters. Despite the pandemic, he said, devolution to states was in accordance with the Budget targets in April and May and it was down by only about 10% in June and July. “We may not meet the Budgeted numbers for tax collection but it may not be as bad as anticipated,” he said at a Ficci event. Bajaj also indicated that the government’s willingness to borrow slightly more if it’s required to fund critical infrastructure spending, stressing the government’s pledge to boost such productive spending that has high multiplier effect. “I have personally spoken to the large infrastructure spending departments and I have assured them that even if I have to borrow a little more I’ll do that, but you should actually achieve your targets for infrastructure spends in the current year,” he said. Commenting on any likely plan to print more money to fund fiscal deficit, Bajaj said: “At this point of time, monetisation (of the deficit) is not on the table. It has not been discussed with the central bank also.” The government has already raised its gross market borrowing plan by over 50% from the budgeted target of Rs 7.8 lakh crore to Rs 12 lakh crore, mainly to tide over the impact of the pandemic. Gross direct tax mop-up (personal income tax and corporate taxes) in the first quarter hit 77% of such tax collected in the same period last year. This, official sources believe, suggests that economic activity may have recovered in June once the Covid-induced lockdown curbs that were put in place since March 25 were lifted. The goods and services tax collections, which nose-dived to a record low of Rs 32,294 crore in April, down 72% on year, recovered to Rs 62,009 crore in May and further to a respectable Rs 90,917 crore (down just 9% on year) in June. This also indicated a rather smart recovery of business activities after the lockdown was eased. To boost manufacturing, as part of the Aatmanirbhar initiative, the government may extend a production-linked incentive scheme to 4-5 more sectors, including the sunrise ones. Recently, the government announced such schemes for the electronics manufacturing and pharmaceuticals sectors. Bajaj said the finance ministry is in talks with Sebi on ways to deepen the bond market. There is some risk aversion among banks towards project financing, so developing a wellfunctioning bond market is critical, he added. Highlighting the government’s resolve to boost asset monetisation, Bajaj said the finance ministry is working with other ministries — such as railways, power, shipping and highways — in this regard. Chief economic adviser Krishnamurthy V Subramanian on Wednesday indicated the possibility of more fiscal measures by the government to reverse a GDP slide once a credible Covid-19 vaccine is rolled out.
Source: Financial Express
NEW DELHI: A key cross-national industry body has pitched for an economic partnership deal between India, the United States, Japan and Australia – an informal security forum commonly known as the Quad, for Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. New Delhi should look at closing a small trade deal with the United States before the US Presidential elections in November – which would build confidence between the two countries – followed by a Free Trade Agreement and then a larger trade deal, said Mukesh Aghi, president of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF). “We have a quad…which is geopolitically aligned... we should look at beyond a trade agreement or FTA between India and the US; we should look at an FTA between the Quad,” Aghi told ET. Aghi said American companies were evincing keen interest in investing in India as a manufacturing alternative to China, but said roadblocks such as policy unpredictability, lack of infrastructure and unwarranted litigation should be removed to ensure ease of doing business while managing global supply chains in a federal environment. “As the stress deepens between US and China, US companies are under a lot of pressure to look at their investment strategy. The interest (for India) is very strong… the momentum with India is still building up,” Aghi said. Earlier this week, the United States asked China to shut its consulate in Texas. In retaliation, Bejing asked Washington to close its consulate in Chengdu, in fresh tensions between the two countries.
Source: Economic Times
Kolhapur: The coronavirus spread in Ichalkaranji town of Kolhapur district has not deterred the powerloom owners in this textile hub. When the other textile centres in Maharashtra – Solapur, Bhiwandi and Malegaon— were grappling with coronavirus couple of months back, the units in Ichalkaranji continued to weave. Now, the virus is spreading fast in this small town on the banks of the Panchganga river. The town, which has already experienced a total lockdown earlier this month, had 544 Covid-19 cases on Friday. Ichalkaranji is known for its production of grey or unprocessed cloth, which is sent to Surat and Bhiwandi for further processing. Usually, about 1.25 crore metre of the cloth with a market value of Rs 50-55 crore is produced in the town. With no new orders and absence of migrant workers, the textile hub is keeping its chin up by producing hospital linen and masks. Saad Momin, who has 350 powerlooms in Ichalkaranji, said only 30% of the industry is functional at present, mostly with the orders of fabric used to make masks and hospital linen. He added that the orders they used to get from the Middle East and Gulf countries have come to nil due to the lockdown. “Even today, we are getting few orders from Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The thing is that we will produce the fabric and keep it ready, but there is no assurance of the delivery time and payment,” he said. The powerloom owners faced hurdles after the migrant workers left in May due to coronavirus fear. Khalifa Mahto, who hails from Gujarat and is in Ichalkaranji from last ten years, said a majority of the workers left in May and those who stayed are now scared after the recent spike in coronavirus cases. To overcome the labour shortfall, the powerloom association decided to train locals. Satish Koshti, president of the association at Ichalkaranji, said their members, nearly 13,000 small and big powerloom factories, decided to train local youths for a month. “The local youth can this way be semi-skilled and we can at least complete the orders already placed. Sons of soil will be given the first priority,” he said. While the industry looks forward to further relaxations from next month, owners like Momin feel it will take them more than a year to come on track again. “We have provided the workers with stay and food facility. Corona is for the time being. Though we are not in profit making these days, we are making sure to pay the workers on time,” he said.
Source: Times of India
RBI report makes case for reinstating of MDR charges, says zero-MDR killing innovation A recent RBI report, QR Code based Payments: Opportunities and Challenges, says zeroMDR (merchant discount rate) has harmed the payments ecosystem, which in turn, has had a retarding effect on innovation in the space. The government, which had abolished MDR collection by banks on RuPay, UPI and QR transactions last year in a bid to drive up merchant adoption of digital payments, should have wised up to this much earlier. Indeed, NITI Aayog principal advisor Ratan Watal and former UIDAI chairman—also, the head of committee on digital payments set up by RBI—Nandan Nilekani had both argued for MDR saying that it would help grow the digital payments segment. The government should now listen to RBI if it is to ensure that the payment ecosystem grows in India. If the government doesn’t budge, it risks destroying four years of work that has gone into advancing digital payments. The industry has spent Rs 2,000 crore in 2-3 years and continues to invest Rs 1,000 crore annually. Besides, if the government is eager to promote digital means, it can bear the cost of MDR for the time being or incentivise merchants in other ways to use digital payments. If indeed this is a factor behind innovation slowing down-with the revenue source gone, banks will be unwilling to pump in money for new features and products-sustained adoption of digital payment could become difficult. If digital payments are to grow, the government will need to look at other alternatives, rather than cutting into the revenues of payment gateways. Home
Source: Financial Express
Textile firms get international partners for fabric technology, stitch up clothing line for the pandemic With the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic abating, companies are turning to preventive measures to boost their revenues. To cater to the antiviral fabrics and antimicrobial segment, almost all the Indian big textiles brands, including Reliance, Arvind, Aditya Birla, Donear Group, Raymond, and Siyaram have entered the market, which is expected to surpass $20.5 billion by 2026, globally. Companies started their journey with reusable masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) kits, and today, they are offering a range of PPE clothing along with fashion and casualwear. ...
Source: Business Standard
Textile firm Welspun India on Friday reported a 65.56 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 53.75 crore for the quarter ended June on account of lower income. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 156.07 crore for the corresponding period of the previous financial year. Total income during the quarter under review stood at Rs 1,216.04 crore, down 29.96 per cent from Rs 1,736.29 crore earlier, Welspun India said in a regulatory filing. Welspun Group Chairman B K Goenka said: "In a quarter marked by challenging conditions and uncertainties, we have demonstrated resilience in our performance. We are well equipped for the 'New Normal' and have resumed operations in record time while prioritising the safety and well-being of our people. We continue to accelerate our journey towards digitalisation of all critical business functions and processes." Shares of Welspun India were trading 2.61 per cent higher at Rs 35.40 apiece on the BSE.
Source: Times of India
ZIMBABWE’S trade development and promotion agency, ZimTrade, has challenged the local clothing and textile industry to increase value added exports and exceed last year’s US$62.3 million earnings. In Africa, total exports of clothing and textile in 2019 were US$18.3 billion, according to Trade Map, dominated by Tunisia (US$4.3 billion), Morocco (US$4 billion), Egypt (US$3.2 billion), South Africa (US$1.5 billion, and Mauritius (US$687 million). ZimTrade said the country has huge potential in clothing and textile exportation. “For Zimbabwe, the total value in export of clothing and textile in 2019 was just US$62.3 million and concentrated within the regional markets such as South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi, and Botswana, according to Trade Map. “Of this value, exports of cotton amounted to around US$42 million, whilst articles of apparel and clothing accessories, which are not knitted or crocheted were US$12 million,” it said. ZimTrade said although the nature of export markets is not a challenge, the export figures shows that more needs to be done if the fashion industry is to contribute meaningfully to economic development and national exports. It said figures from Trade Map suggest that the country is exporting more clothing and textile products that are not value added, which translate to exporting jobs. “The huge contribution of clothing and textile to national exports of some of African countries is an indication of how they have harnessed the potential by developing crucial value chains that makes it easy to increase output for exports from their economies. “This is also a result of the realisation that owning the next trending fashion creates a strong narrative for a country, which is an enabler for increased tourism and investment. “Zimbabwean stakeholders in the fashion industry need to increase exports and actively contribute to national economic development,” said ZimTrade. It said what is required now is to come up with an inclusive framework that can harness potential in all players within the fashion and clothing value chain, leveraging on the Zimbabwean diaspora as well as addressing current challenges affecting the industry. ZimTrade is developing capacities of local small and medium enterprises in the clothing sector, with the assistance of partners from the Netherlands-based PUM and SES of Germany. “These activities have seen some companies improve their production efficiency, output, and quality, which ensures that Zimbabwean products are commensurate with international standards and result in increased confidence and improved export figures. “There is need to develop capacities in young designers and youth led businesses as they are creative enough to keep up with changing global trends,” said ZimTrade. There is a realisation among experts that young people in the lock fashion industry are hungry for exports and as such concerted efforts by all stakeholders must be made to nurture start-ups, which could be a remedy to the country’s economic woes . “Further to these capacity development activities, there is need for stakeholders to engage closely and address challenges that continue to affect the fashion industry,” said ZimTrade.
Source: Herald
The policy support was supposed to end on September 30 this year Bangladesh Bank has extended the tenure of its policy support for the readymade garments (RMG) and textile businesses for their export and import trade, which it offered earlier to help the sectors recover from the Covid-19 fallout. The central bank issued a circular in this regard yesterday and said that the business people could enjoy the support till March 31, 2021. The policy support was supposed to end on September 30 this year. The circular said that the bankers were allowed to extend the period for realization of the export proceeds by up to 90 days in addition to the stipulated four months’ time frame from the date of shipment. In March, the BB allowed the banks to extend the period of realization of the export proceeds by up to 60 days in addition to the stipulated four months’ time frame from the date of shipment. Other facilities, which were granted in March this year, would remain unchanged, the BB circular said. The BB circular of March also extended the tenure of the Export Development Fund loans, which would now be six months from the existing tenure of three months. Apart from the policy support, the government has launched a number of stimulus packages for revival of businesses in these sectors.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
Bangladesh will sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with Bhutan within the next one month in a bid to increase bilateral trade with the landlocked country in the Eastern Himalayas, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said yesterday. "After that, FTAs will be signed with several other countries in phases. Already, negotiations with those countries, including Indonesia, have come a long way," said Munshi. The commerce minister made these comments while addressing a virtual workshop styled, 'Covid-19 and international trade issue: policy options for promoting Bangladesh's exports', organised by the Economic Reporters Forum (ERF) in association with RAPID Bangladesh and Asia Foundation. Trade between Bangladesh and Bhutan that amounted to $26.52 million in fiscal 2012-13 reached $57.90 million in fiscal 2018-19, according to data from the commerce ministry of Bangladesh. Global trade and commerce have suffered greatly due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and Bangladesh is no exception even though the country's economy has moved forward based on its strong foundations, he said. However once the Covid-19 crisis comes to an end, Bangladesh's economy will recover in time, the minister added. "Therefore, better days wait for us ahead," Munshi said, adding that the time has come to take advantage of new global trade opportunities brought about by the coronavirus fallouts. "We have to work together to take advantage of this opportunity. Soon there will be a lot of changes and competition in the international market," the commerce minister said. Referring to Japan's decision to move a number of its companies away from China, Munshi said that now is as good a time as any for Bangladesh to expand its reach in the international market.A taskforce led by the incumbent commerce secretary has been formed to ensure the quick implementation of the government's decisions amid the ongoing pandemic, he added. Although he hopes that the Covid-19 crisis will abate by the end of the year, the pandemic could provide Bangladesh with great opportunities in domestic and international trade, according to Munshi. Meanwhile, Shams Mahmud, president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), urged the government to update policies related to foreign direct investment (FDI) in a bid to attract more financing in the post Covid-19 era. Diversifying the country's exports is not possible without the government's support in the light engineering sector, Mahmud added. Former DCCI president Abul Kashem Khan stressed the need to conduct research on how to remove the weaknesses of FDI generation and export diversification. He also said world trade will witness massive changes after the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. "We need to stop over-relying on China for raw materials for the export sector," he said.Mohammad Abdur Razzaque, chairman of RAPID Bangladesh, in a presentation said the actual impact of the pandemic on Bangladesh's GDP is not clear yet while economic disruptions have led to various socio-economic consequences.According to him, though exports were badly hit, June's export earnings were much higher than anticipated. Fiscal 2019-20 was particularly a usual year for Bangladesh's exports, he added. As of total economic losses in terms of value-addition, Razzaque said $9 billion to $21 billion could be lost by June 2020.The Covid-19 fallouts have cost the world economy $3.8 trillion, or 4.3 per cent of total global GDP of $88 trillion.ERF President Saif Islam Dilal presided over workshop while M Abu Eusuf, executive director RAPID, and Kazi Faisal Bin Seraj, country representative of Asia Foundation, among others, spoke at the event conducted by ERF General Secretary SM Rashidul Islam.
Source: Daily Star
To brace for the 'new normal', the Government of Fiji has announced the country's biggest-ever tax cut –– a discount of hundreds of millions of dollars, with strategic incentives across age-old industries as well as new arenas –– such as manufacturing and assembly –– which other countries are looking to relocate to price competitive locales. In his 2020-21 National Budget address, economy minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said "when it comes to customs duties, we are building an entirely new tariff structure; one centred around simplicity and liberal trade, with a special focus on cutting costs for the tourism sector and making life more affordable for ordinary people." Sayed-Khaiyum proposed massive duty reductions on goods that cannot be manufactured in the archipelago of more than 300 islands, with customs duties falling to five per cent, and zero per cent in some cases. "We’re eliminating the duty for all items under the Customs Tariffs Act 1986, which includes machinery, mechanical appliances and mechanical parts. That’s not all. We’re cutting customs duties on over 1,600 items (including life jackets)." Overall, on more than 1,000 items duties are reduced to five per cent or zero per cent, and on more than 500 items, duty is decreased from 32 per cent to 15 per cent. The minister urged businesses to take advantage of "this duty-discount of the decade". As for business-friendly measures announced in the COVID-19 Response Budget, the payment of advanced corporate taxes is now permanent. Further, the implementation of the VAT Monitoring System is now extended until January 1, 2022. The debt forgiveness provision is also extended to December 31, 2021 "to grant businesses another full calendar year of flexibility". In another major announcement, the minister said that August 1, 2020 will mark the end of Fiji’s business licence regime. "To start a business in the next financial year, you can complete an easy, online business incorporation and tax registration, then you’re in business –– it’s that simple. There’s no longer a need to fork out the money or the time it takes to obtain a business licence," Sayed-Khaiyum said in his budget speech. The Textile, Clothing and Footwear Council (TCF Council) of Fiji termed the 2020-2021 National Budget as "bold, brave and absolutely necessary". TCF Council president Michael Towler said the budget supports the survival of businesses and industries which are also gearing towards recovery.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Ink manufacturing tech company, Boston Industrial Solutions, Inc has introduced the Volta S150 screen printer machine—a single colour semiautomatic tabletop screen printing machine for printing face masks, neck labels on t-shirts, uniforms, underwear, denim material, denim pants pockets, denim waistbands, tote bags, and many other promotional items. Tagless screen printing with the S150 produces vibrant, high opacity, soft, crisp, and wash-resistant images on cotton, nylon, polyester, denim, fleece, spandex, and ribbed textiles. The process is superior to tagless pad printing because of the ability to print bright white images on dark substrates at extremely low costs. In addition, this process is superior to heat transfer labels for jeans and denim materials at incredible speed and cost savings—impossibility with pad printing process today. The Volta S150 is a user-friendly tagless label printing machine, perfect for both start-ups and demanding heavy-duty industrial textile printing operations. The Volta S150 is not only a great face mask printing machine but also a perfect machine to print on flat promotional products and industrial parts up to 4.2" high. This machine incorporates a simple to use PLC and tool-less setup for quick job changeover, an adjustable x-y fixture holder table, and variable inking—two features that are a first in screen printing. This tagless printing machine also features print frequency controls which allow the operator to regulate print opacity, quality, and speed. Volta S150 tagless printing machine is ideal to print with the Natron screen printing inks, including silicone inks for textiles and rubber, LED UV screen printing inks, water based inks, solvent screen printing inks, including the MG Series inks for glass. Boston Industrial Solutions manufactures and provides advanced printing inks, equipment, supplies, and solutions to industrial, medical, toys, and promotional companies worldwide. Boston Industrial Solutions is the leading supplier of silicone inks worldwide.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Atlanta-based Messe Frankfurt Inc., organizer of Techtextil North America and Texprocess Americas, has announced that the collocated events have been postponed until their next editions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Techtextil North America is scheduled to take place August 23-25, 2021, in Raleigh, N.C. The next edition of Texprocess Americas will be the collocated event with Techtextil North America that will take place May 17-19, 2022, in Atlanta. “We have been monitoring the global spread of COVID-19 that began earlier this year, and to uphold our commitment to the industry, we postponed [the events] to October 1-3, 2020,” said Kristy Meade, group show director, said in a letter to exhibitors. “However, as coronavirus cases in the U.S continue to rise, we are once again faced with the difficult decision of whether or not to proceed as planned. “While we firmly believe that our health and safety plan exceeded all recommended guidelines to provide a safe trade show environment, several outside factors including travel restrictions, quarantine mandates and other governmental regulations across the globe have made moving forward with an in-person event impossible at this time.”
Source: Textile World
