International Trade

Visa profit rises, beats expectations as cross-border transactions jump

The results were "driven by relatively stable growth in payments volume, cross-border volume and processed transactions, plus strong momentum across new flows and value-added services," Chief

Conflict to cooperation: US-India trade hits 'high watermark' under Biden

India-US trade ties have taken a positive turn under Biden administration

Rupee has been among the least volatile currencies since 2023: RBI governor

Our stated policy is to prevent excessive volatility of the rupee, said Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das

Efficient logistics, paperless system to boost int'l trade: Comm secy

Efficient logistics and paperless system are critical to boost international trade, and strong connectivity is key to foster trade and economic development, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal has said. However, while making such efforts to bolster connectivity projects, it is essential to build trust as well as transparency in the cooperative efforts, he said addressing meeting of Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on Thursday. The secretary noted that it is of utmost importance that "we uphold the principles of SCO Charter including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of the member states." "Barthwal focused on the importance of efficient logistics for international trade, in which, paperless trading is a critical step towards streamlining cross-border transactions," the commerce ministry said in a statement. He congratulated Pakistan for its Presidency of the Heads of Government of the SCO and welcomed Belarus on becoming the new member of the ...

UP to pitch itself as 'global sourcing hub' in international trade summit

"Buyers and importers from 72 countries across continents including Europe, Africa, North America, Latin America and Oceania are expected to participate in the five-day event," a senior official said

War minus shooting: Role of India in contemporary international trade

International trade right now is bringing back memories of the Cold War. What can be India's role in it?

Talks on upgrading India-S Korea FTA may conclude in 2024: Korean envoy

South Korea is hoping that the negotiations will conclude before the possible visit of Yoon Suk Yeol, the South Korean President, to India

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 ...

Agricultural commodities may be significantly impacted by Red Sea crisis

The Red Sea crisis has led to a 122% rise in freight costs in the last few months, according to ICRA

Budget 2024-25: Bringing high spirits home on alcobev players' wish list

The Perfect Pour, a Mumbai-based wine and spirits consulting firm, urges the Budget to focus on a unified ecosystem, standardised pricing, and GST

India pitches for clear definition of e-commerce trade in goods in WTO

India has asked the WTO members to work on a clear definition of e-commerce trade in goods and services as it would help provide developing countries a policy space to make decisions on the fast-growing sector, an official said. At present, there is a difference of understanding about the subject between developed and developing member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The issue came up for discussion during a recent meeting of senior officials of WTO members in Geneva last week. "India stated that the definition should be clear about digital goods and services because customs duties are there on goods and not on services. The Western world wants no customs duties, and on the other hand, developing countries want that policy space to impose the duties," the official said. Customs duties help protect domestic industries and provide a policy space to support the growth of MSMEs. Though certain WTO members have been discussing the e-commerce issue since 1998, there is

Govt looks to onboard consultants amid work on investment treaties

These treaties are either in the form of a standalone investment treaty-Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT)-or an investment chapter (IC) within a Free Trade Agreement (FTA)

CBDC can play important role in cross-border payment, says RBI Guv

Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das has said that the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), which is being promoted by the central bank, can play an important role in cross-border payments without much difficulty. The Reserve Bank, he said, has undertaken pilot projects with regard to promotion of the CBDC and the results have been "excellent". The CBDC as a pilot was introduced in the wholesale and retail segments and will now be extended to overnight money markets. "The learning has been excellent and more than what it was one year ago. We are even more convinced that CBDC can prove to be the most effective and efficient mode for cross-border payments in particular, other than of course domestic transactions. And this is not something which is very difficult," he said at an interaction at IMF Governor Talks at Marrakesh, Morocco early this month. He emphasised that while paper currency will continue, the CBDC is going to be the future currency of the world. "CBDC is going to be

Trade potential

India should reconsider its Rcep decision

Will only agree India trade deal approach that works for UK: Rishi Sunak

The free trade agreement (FTA) talks with India are progressing and Britain will only agree to a pact that works for the whole of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told his ministers. Ahead of his first visit to India as UK Prime Minister to attend the G20 World Leaders' Summit in New Delhi later this week, Sunak updated his top team on the ongoing trade talks, which have completed 12 rounds of negotiations, during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. The British Indian leader described India as an indispensable partner of the UK across all spheres of bilateral cooperation, which he is keen to strengthen further. He said negotiations around a free trade deal were progressing and that he would only agree to an approach which worked for the whole of the UK, notes a Downing Street readout of the Cabinet meeting. The Prime Minister said India was an indispensable partner of the UK, both economically and in addressing the global challenges all democracies are facing. He said we mu

Improved capacity, reduced turnaround time: India's ports mean business

Major ports have added more than 100 million tonnes in additional traffic since 2014-15

Indian exports face bigger threat from Asia-Pacific than West: CRISIL

CRISIL also said that the share of the US and the EU in India's goods exports has been on the rise since 2021 and it is eating into the share of the APAC region

Bolivia is latest South American nation to use China's yuan for trade

Bolivia is now using the yuan to pay for imports and exports, becoming the latest country in South America to regularly use the Chinese currency in a small but growing challenge to the hegemony of the U.S. dollar for international financial transactions in the region. Between May and July of this year, Bolivia conducted financial operations amounting to 278 million Chinese yuan ($38.7 million), which accounts for 10% of its foreign trade during that period, Economy Minister Marcelo Montenegro said on Thursday. We're already using the yuan. It's a reality and a good start, Montenegro said during a news conference. Banana, zinc, and wood manufacturing exporters are conducting transactions in yuan, as well as importers of vehicles and capital goods. These electronic transactions are carried out through the state-owned Banco Unin. The amount being used in yuan is still relatively small, but it will increase over time, Montenegro said. With these transactions, Bolivia joins other countr

Piyush Goyal to visit UK for FTA negotiations, review progress of TEPA

India and the UK began negotiations on the FTA in January 2022, and set a Diwali deadline last year for the trade pact

India's trade deficit rises to $22.12 bn in May, highest since Dec 2022

In May, imports fell 6.6% to $57.1 billion, and exports declined 10.3% to $34.98 billion