Page 2 - Global Trade

'AI can help shipping industry cut emissions by 47 mn tonnes every year'

The use of the technology could reduce the need for maneuvers and route deviation from close encounters with high-risk marine targets

Brics discusses trading in local currency, African Union, and Palestine

India welcomed Egypt, Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia who attended their first Brics meeting in Russia on Tuesday

India's role in easing fragmentation of global trade amid US-China tensions

Considering India's merchandise exports, the US is still our largest partner. But, it is India's imports that have solidified China as a significant trading partner

Taiwan selling more to US than China in major shift away from Beijing

Whether it's tapioca balls or computer chips, Taiwan is stretching toward the United States and away from China the world's No. 2 economy that threatens to take the democratically ruled island by force if necessary. That has translated to the world's biggest maker of computer chips which power everything from medical equipment to cellphones announcing bigger investments in the U.S. last month after a boost from the Biden administration. Soon afterward, a Taiwanese semiconductor company said it was ending its two-decade-long run in mainland China amid a global race to gain the edge in the high-tech industry. These changes at a time of an intensifying China-U.S. rivalry reflect Taiwan's efforts to reduce its reliance on Beijing and insulate itself from Chinese pressure while forging closer economic and trade ties with the United States, its strongest ally. The shift also is taking place as China's economic growth has been weak and global businesses are looking to diversify following

Panama Canal in talks with US LNG producers to increase transportation

The canal is typically used by US Gulf Coast exporters to send LNG cargoes to Asia via the Pacific Ocean, but from last year low water levels forced cuts to daily crossings

Govt working on global trade ahead of World Bank business ready report

With the World Bank planning to come out with its first Business Ready report in September this year, the commerce ministry has started working on the international trade topic in detail to further push India's ranking, an official said. Business Ready (B-READY) is the World Bank's new flagship report benchmarking the business environment and investment climate in most economies worldwide. The report assesses the regulatory framework and public services directed at firms, and the efficiency with which regulatory framework and public services are combined in practice. The first B-READY report will be launched on September 25, 2024. The Business Ready report is replacing the World Bank Group's earlier Doing Business index. In 2020, the World Bank decided to pause the publication of its Doing Business report following a number of irregularities regarding changes to data in previous reports. The new focuses on 10 topics covering the lifecycle of a firm in the course of starting, ...

India, Chinese Taipei ask WTO to delay ruling on ICT import duties dispute

India and Chinese Taipei have asked the WTO's dispute settlement body not to adopt any ruling against New Delhi's import duties on certain information and technology products till July 26 as both sides are engaged in resolving the matter, an official said. The issue came up during a meeting of the dispute settlement body (DSB) in Geneva on April 26. In the meeting, the two countries asked DSB to delay consideration of a dispute panel's reports until July 26, 2024 in order to help facilitate resolution of the disputes, the Geneva-based official said, adding that the body agreed to that. Earlier also, DSB had agreed to three previous requests from India and Chinese Taipei to delay consideration of the reports. As per rules of the WTO, the panel's ruling will have to be adopted by DSB for implementation within 60 days of the release of the order. However, countries can mutually request DSB for delay in adoption of the ruling. In its report, a dispute panel of WTO on April 17, 2023

Govt asks shipping firms to enhance reporting, tracking on West Asia routes

The government has issued advisories to ship companies to enhance reporting, tracking and security protocols for vessels on West Asian routes and coming into Indian waters. In a circular dated April 10, 2024, the Directorate General of Shipping (Mumbai) advised ship managers, ship masters and seafarers to enhance the mechanism for reporting and tracking maritime activities to safeguard the interest of merchant ships and their crews. The ministry has identified sensitive zones that include the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, Gulf Of Oman, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, Bab Al Mandeb Strait, Red Sea, Somali Basin and Arabian Sea region. The circular said in the event of any incidents or security escalation due to incidents, all vessels transiting through these areas are requested to submit their details via the online Ship Reporting Form. "This measure is critical for maintaining a comprehensive and up-to-date vessel. database, which will facilitate easier tracking and coordination at th

India's growth dependent on global interdependence: Ex-US trade official

: The current China situation presents an opportunity to be an alternative or additional node in global supply chains, a former US trade official said Tuesday and asserted that India's economic prosperity will be driven by its global interdependence in increasing trade and investments into and from India, helping drive job creation, GDP growth and prosperity. The former official said as India becomes the third largest economy in nominal GDP and as the Indian middle class grows to become larger and with higher incomes, it will emerge as a significant market for US and global businesses. India's productive capacity will similarly find enhanced ways to serve global demand as we already see in technology, he said. India is a beneficiary of globalisation. Its economic prosperity will be driven by its global interdependence, in increasing trade and investments into and from India, helping drive job creation, GDP growth and prosperity. Today the global supply chain situation works in ...

Global trade optimism

Downside risks in 2024 must also be evaluated

Global trade outlook positive, geopolitical uncertainties remain: UNCTAD

Global trade dipped 3% to $31 trillion in 2023 after peaking in 2022

Despite war, pandemic, global trade growth likely to accelerate in 2024

Globalisation reached a record high in 2022 and stayed nearly as high in 2023, despite various global shocks over the past decade, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and the USChina trade conflict, a report said on Wednesday. The "New DHL Global Connectedness Report 2024" by DHL and New York University's Stern School of Business, released here, also said that the share of global output traded internationally was back to a record high level in 2022. After a slowdown in 2023, trade growth is forecast to accelerate in 2024, it said. Trade growth played a crucial role in boosting connectedness. The report tracks how flows of trade, capital, information, and people move around the world and measure the globalisation of 181 countries and territories. The globalisation of information flows has notably surged over the past two decades, even though the latest data show a slowdown in their growth, partly due to less research collaboration between the US and ...

Govt officials, exporters to discuss Red Sea crisis issue on March 8

Senior officials from different ministries and exporters are expected to hold discussions on March 8 here on issues being faced by exporters due to the Red Sea crisis, an official said. The official said this would be the third meeting on the issue. Since November, Yemen-based Houthi rebels have targeted ships in the Red Sea and surrounding waters over the Israel-Hamas war. In December, the situation around the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial shipping route for traders connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean, escalated due to these attacks. Because of this, the shipping costs have jumped and consignments are taking more time to reach Europe and the US as the ships are taking the Cape of Good Hope route, encircling Africa. Longer routes are resulting in delays of about 14-20 days and also higher freight and insurance costs. Representatives from ministries including finance, shipping and external affairs are expected to attend the meeting on March 8. An

National interest trumps global trade

The Abu Dhabi conference highlights any progress for India at the WTO hinges on renewed US engagement in the trade body

WTO adopts new plurilateral agreement on domestic services regulation

The services domestic regulation agreement entered into force at the 13th Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi

Oil tankers in short supply as Red Sea attacks divert global trade

Just two new supertankers are due to join the fleet in 2024 the fewest additions in almost four decades and about 90% below the yearly average this millennium

Tax-free status of movie, music, games traded online on table at WTO meet

Since late last century and the early days of the web, providers of digital media like Netflix and Spotify have had a free pass when it comes to international taxes on films, video games and music that are shipped across borders through the internet. But now, a global consensus on the issue may be starting to crack. As the World Trade Organisation opens its latest biannual meeting of government ministers Monday, its longtime moratorium on duties on e-commerce products which has been renewed almost automatically since 1998 is coming under pressure as never before. This week in Abu Dhabi, the WTO's 164 member countries will take up a number of key issues: Subsidies that encourage overfishing. Reforms to make agricultural markets fairer and more eco-friendly. And efforts to revive the Geneva-based trade body's system of resolving disputes among countries. All of those are tall orders, but the moratorium on e-commerce duties is perhaps the matter most in play. It centres on electroni

Red Sea crisis may raise freight and forwarding cost by 25-30%: Report

Sustained disruptions in the Red Sea route is likely to raise the freight and forwarding (F&F) cost by 25-30 per cent for corporates largely dealing in international trade, a report said on Friday. Moreover, the working capital cycle is likely to aggravate by 15-20 days, and the impact could be higher for sectors such as agriculture and textiles, credit ratings agency Ind-Ra said in its report. Working capital cycle refers to the period between payments made to suppliers and revenue received from sales. The report also said that pressures on cash flow, although moderate for large entities, will further increase borrowings, especially for sectors such as iron and steel, auto and auto ancillaries, chemicals and textiles, which have seen a year-on-year rise in net leverage in the first half of the current fiscal. "The challenge is significant for the entities having low value addition therefore thin margins. Although large entities have adequate elbow room to accommodate such ...

Inter-ministerial panel to discuss issues related to Red Sea crisis

A high-level inter-ministerial committee will again meet on February 8 to discuss the way forward on the trade front in the wake of ongoing problems in the Red Sea, an official said. Earlier the panel held its meeting on the issue on January 17 here. Senior officials from five ministries -- external affairs, defence, shipping, finance (department of financial services), and commerce -- are expected to participate in the deliberations. "In the February 8 meeting, the officers are expected to talk about steps being taken by them to help the exporting community deal with this crisis," the official said. These meetings are convened by the commerce ministry. In the last meeting, the commerce ministry had asked the Department of Financial Services (DFS) to monitor and maintain credit flow to exporters, who are facing freight cost troubles due to the Red Sea crisis. Meanwhile, the finance ministry on Monday asked banks and insurance companies to expeditiously resolve issues of exporters

Availability of containers not affected due to Red Sea crisis: Patel

The Red Sea crisis at present has not affected the availability of containers for traders and the government is closely monitoring the situation, Parliament was informed on Friday. Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel said that exports from India are continuing as the sailings of containers carrying ships from India have been diverted via the Cape of Good Hope route, encircling Africa. "The crisis in Red Sea, at present, has also not much affected the availability of containers in most of the ports," she said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. The crisis in the Red Sea shipping route began after Yemen-based Houthi rebels launched frequent attacks on commercial shipping vessels plying through the route in November as a fallout of the Israeli-Palestinian war, which started in early October 2023. Due to the crisis, the movement of goods from the Red Sea, the world's busiest shipping route, has disrupted the global supply chains as vessels have to take long ..