Page 3 - Global Trade

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 ..

Red Sea disruption causing delays, higher costs: Adidas CEO Bjorn Gulden

Shipments are currently delayed by about three weeks, CEO Bjorn Gulden said, and that is causing some delivery issues, especially to Europe

Arabian Sea likely to become 'high risk area' again, says PortsMin

Wrote to MEA, DefMin; traders may have to shell out higher freight, insurance costs

Disruptions at Red Sea route may hurt auto, electronics production: GTRI

Longer disruptions at the crucial Red Sea trade route may hurt manufacturing lines of some sectors like electronics, automobiles, chemicals, consumer goods and machinery, economic think tank GTRI said on Sunday. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said companies relying on just-in-time manufacturing processes can be particularly vulnerable as they maintain low inventory levels and depend on the timely arrival of components and finished products. Few industries where production will be impacted due to disruptions in global value chains include electronics, automotive, machinery, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, plastics, textiles, and consumer goods, it added. Components and finished products are often shipped through the Suez Canal to reach different markets, and disruptions can lead to delays in manufacturing and increased costs, it said. Due to the attacks by Houthi rebels on commercial ships, the movement of goods from the Red Sea, the world's busiest shipping route, has ...

Red Sea crisis: No disruption in oil flows, only freight up, says HPCL head

The ongoing attacks on shipping vessels by Houthi militants in the Red Sea have not impacted the flow of crude oil to India but freight has gone up due to rerouting via the Cape of Good Hope, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) chairman Pushp Kumar Joshi said. India, the world's third-biggest oil importer, gets a bulk of its Russian supplies through the Red Sea. Russian supplies made up for over 35 per cent of India's total crude imports in 2023, amounting to 1.7 million barrels per day. Russian ships and cargoes are not being prime targets of the attacks at this stage however rerouting of ships around the southern tip of Africa instead of transiting through the Suez Canal and Red Sea has led to ships taking longer voyages, resulting in the shortage of ships and rise in freight charges. In a post-third quarter earnings call with investors, Joshi said HPCL has tied up crude oil supplies till mid-April and it does not see any supply disruptions. HPCL meets 44-45 per cent of it

Lawmakers warn Biden to seek authorization before strikes on Houthi rebels

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is raising concerns over a series of recent U.S. military strikes against Yemen Houthi rebels, urging the Biden administration to get congressional authorization before taking further military action in the Middle East. In a letter to President Joe Biden on Friday, a coalition of nearly 30 House members expressed their strong opposition to what they described as unauthorized American strikes that have further escalated the biggest confrontation at sea the U.S. Navy has seen in the Middle East in a decade. As representatives of the American people, Congress must engage in robust debate before American servicemembers are put in harm's way and before more U.S. taxpayer dollars are spent on yet another war in the Middle East, the letter, led by Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, stated. No President, regardless of political party, has the constitutional authority to bypass Congress on matters of war. The lawmakers, who hail from t

Global trade being disrupted by Red Sea attacks, war in Ukraine, says UN

The UN trade body sounded an alarm on Thursday that global trade is being disrupted by attacks in the Red Sea, the war in Ukraine, and low water levels in the Panama Canal. Jan Hoffmann, a trade expert at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development known as UNCTAD, warned that shipping costs have already surged and energy and food costs are being affected, raising inflation risks. Since attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on ships in the Red Sea began in November, he said, major players in the shipping industry have temporarily halted using Egypt's Suez Canal, a critical waterway connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea and a vital route for energy and cargo between Asia and Europe. The Suez Canal handled 12 per cent to 15 per cent of global trade in 2023, but UNCTAD estimates that the trade volume going through the waterway dropped by 42 per cent over the last two months, Hoffmann said. Since November, the Iranian-backed Houthis have launched at least 34 attacks on

Global economy, trade normalising, but still not normal: Leaders at WEF

As the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting drew to a close, global leaders on Friday said the economy and trade appeared to be moving towards normalisation but were yet expected to be far from normal. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the global trade was weak in 2023 before seeing an uptick in the last quarter. "We have been more optimistic about 2024, and I feel, we are moving towards normalisation, but I still don't see it returning to a normal fully," she said at a panel discussion on 'The global economic outlook' on the last day of the WEF Annual Meeting 2024 here. "There are so many uncertainties, and there also so many elections around the world, making it difficult to predict anything," she added. The WTO chief said she would still expect trade growth to be better than in 2024 unless a major war breaks out. She said there are some bright shoots on the trade front, and the trade has been the force for resilience. The WTO chief also said it is politically diffic

India-Peru trade pact: Next round of negotiations to begin on Feb 12

The next round of negotiations between India and South American nation Peru for a free trade agreement is scheduled to start on February 12, an official said. The proposed agreement is aimed at promoting bilateral trade and investments between the two countries. In such pacts, two trading partners either significantly reduce or eliminate customs duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them, besides easing norms to promote trade in services. "The sixth round of negotiations for a proposed trade agreement between India and the South American nation Peru is scheduled from February 12-15," the official said. Issues which are expected to figure in the negotiations include rules of origin, trade in goods, customs procedures and trade facilitation, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures. Negotiations for the agreement started in 2017 and the fifth round was concluded in August 2019. The negotiations were paused due to the coronavirus pandemic. Duri

India outpaced several developed nations in ship-turnaround time: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday highlighted that India has outpaced several developed nations in ship-turnaround time, emphasising the country's proven potential and standing in global trade. The prime minister made these remarks while dedicating projects worth Rs 4,000 crore to the nation, including crucial strategic initiatives at Cochin Shipyard Limited. He mentioned that these projects would accelerate the development of the southern region of the country. "The world is recognising India's potential and position in global trade," Modi said, shedding light on the agreements made during India's G20 Presidency regarding the Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. Modi said that the Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor will further strengthen the creation of 'Viksit Bharat' by providing a boost to the coastal economy of India. Reflecting on the past, the prime minister recalled that just a decade ago, ships had to wait for a considerable amount of time at the ports, and ...

Govt may consider cash refunds to exporters to improve cash flow: GTRI

The government can consider giving refunds to exporters in cash instead of scrips for tax remission schemes, as it would immediately improve cash flow for them, economic think tank GTRI said on Tuesday. At present, the refund under the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme and the Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) scheme is issued as a scrip, which can be used to pay basic customs duties at the time of import. The scrip can be sold to other importers, who can later use the scrip instead of cash for payment of basic customs duty. These schemes refund select central and state levies to Indian exporters. "Refund RODTEP and ROSCTL dues to exporters in cash and not in the form of scrips. This will immediately improve the cash flow of thousands of exporters facing a weak export outlook for 2024," the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said. The RoSCTL refunds taxes for apparel and made-up sectors. RoDTEP covers most of the remaining

US retailer Target sees disruption of India supplies due to Red Sea crisis

Many retailers around the globe are stocking up on goods and seeking air or rail alternatives in a bid to avoid empty shelves during spring

Known unknown

Red Sea crisis will affect global trade

Sri Lanka Navy ready to send ship to Red Sea to protect merchant vessels

The Sri Lanka Navy on Monday said it is ready to send a naval ship to the Red Sea to combat the threat to merchant vessel lines by Houthi rebels, joining countries such as India, in protecting the key waterway for global trade. The announcement comes following last week's orders of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who had declared the cost as Rs 250 million every fortnight. The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have launched more than 20 attacks on merchant ships in recent weeks, claiming to take revenge against Israel for its military campaign against Palestinian terror group Hamas in Gaza. These attacks have sharply raised goods' transportation costs between Asia and Europe. Newswire Lanka quoted Navy spokesman Captain Gayan Wickramasuriya as saying that but the exact date of deployment is yet to be confirmed. The vessels would be covering the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and connected sea lanes. Captain Wickramasuriya went on to say that initially one ship would be deployed as pa

War, weather put global ocean shippers on notice for rough seas in 2024

Maersk on Friday joined other major ocean carriers in rerouting ships away from the Red Sea to avoid missile and drone attacks in an area that leads to the vital Asia-Europe Suez Canal shortcut

PM Modi to inaugurate Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit on January 10

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 10th edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in Gandhinagar on January 10, an official said on Friday. The event will be held at the Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre in the state capital, he said. A day before the summit begins, the PM would also inaugurate the 'Vibrant Gujarat Global Trade Show 2024' at Helipad Ground near Mahatma Mandir on January 9, Additional Chief Secretary of Industries and Mines Department, S J Haider, said in a press conference. The PM will arrive in Gandhinagar on January 9, he said. "The 10th edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit will be held between January 10 and 12 in Gandhinagar and the PM will inaugurate the event on January 10. We are also organising 'Vibrant Gujarat Global Trade Show 2024' as part of the summit. It will also be inaugurated by the PM in the afternoon of January 9. The trade show will remain open till January 13," he said. The previous Vibrant Gujarat Summit was held in ..

TMS Ep601: Reliance's GenAI, global trade in 2024, markets, Congress's NYAY

Why does Reliance want to launch its own GenAI? Can this election year change global trade? Can gold deliver double-digit returns in 2024? What is the Congress party's NYAY promise? Answers here

We will maintain export figures of last year despite global slowdown: Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday exuded confidence that during this fiscal, the country will maintain the last year's export figures despite slowdown in global trade. He said that India's exports of goods and services rose to USD 776 billion in 2022-23 from USD 500 billion two years ago. "Globally growth has been negative, international trade is in the negative territory, estimates are that this year international trade may fall, and in that perspective after having grown so rapidly we are looking at a phase of consolidation... "and I expect that the current year, we will maintain our figures of last year and strengthen our processes and our domestic capacities, capabilities to be able to grow at much faster rates in the years to come," Goyal told reporters here. Cumulatively, the country's merchandise exports in April-November 2023-24 contracted by 6.51 per cent to USD 278.8 billion. The estimated value of services export during the eight-month period stood

Global trade disruption

Shipping routes can increase vulnerability