SURAT, GUJARAT: In a concerted plea, the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) and various textile user industry associations in India have called upon the Textile Advisory Group, chaired by Textile Secretary Rachna Shah, to permit the import of man-made fiber (MMF) yarn without BIS certification. This urgent request was made during a meeting held on May 13 in New Delhi, highlighting the critical need for specialized yarns to sustain innovation and global competitiveness in India’s textile industry. During the Textile Advisory Group meeting, representatives from the SGCCI and other textile industry associations voiced a unanimous concern: the lack of sufficient quantities of certain MMF yarns in India is stifling innovation and competitiveness. Vice-president elect of SGCCI, Nikhil Madrasi, and former SGCCI president, Ashish Gujarati, were among the attendees advocating for policy changes. Ashish Gujarati emphasized the importance of innovation in the textile sector. “The textile industry is very dynamic, and continuous innovation is essential for India to remain competitive globally. However, the current QCO order on MMF yarns and fibers hampers this innovation by restricting access to many specialty yarns not produced in India,” he said. Nikhil Madrasi highlighted the specific challenges faced by the technical textiles segment in South Gujarat. “South Gujarat is becoming the hub of technical textiles in India. IDY yarn, crucial for technical textiles, is in short supply, especially those above 3000 denier. This shortage is impacting production,” he noted.
Industry Statistics and Projections: The SGCCI presented compelling data to the Textile Advisory Group, underscoring the potential growth of the technical textiles market. “The global market for technical textiles is currently valued at $215 billion, with India’s share at about $19 billion. By 2030, this market is expected to grow to $360 billion, and India’s potential share could rise to $40 billion if we have access to global quality and priced MMF yarn,” Madrasi explained. Ashish Gujarati also pointed out the growing luxury fashion market in India, which is largely dominated by international brands. “India’s luxury fashion market is rapidly expanding, yet only 12% of it is produced domestically. Access to a broader range of MMF yarns and fibers could boost India’s luxury fashion production to 50%,” he argued.
Future Projections and Government Policies: The SGCCI stressed the need for policy adjustments to align with the Indian government’s Amritkal Vision, which aims for a significant increase in India’s export market share by 2047. “By 2030, the global textile export market is expected to be worth $2961 billion. If India’s share is targeted at $100 billion, our current global market share of 5% will drop to 3.37%. To achieve the government’s vision of a 10% market share by 2047, we must have access to world-class textile raw materials,” Madrasi asserted. Ashish Gujarati and Nikhil Madrasi concluded with a call to action for the government. “To increase our export market share to 50% by 2047, the Indian government should introduce a special scheme for MMF yarns and fibers. Ensuring the availability of specialty and technical textile yarns is crucial for our industry’s future,” he said
Source: The Blunt Times
Senior officials of India and the UK held negotiations last month on the outstanding issues of the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) and the work is in progress to iron out the differences. According to the commerce ministry, the Indian team visited London from April 16-19 for negotiations. "The teams have made good progress and work is in progress in resolving pending issues. Chapter-wise textual negotiations are nearly closed and schedules on goods and services are at an advanced stage of negotiations," the ministry said. The ministry, however, did not disclose further details. o far, 13 rounds of talks have been completed. The 14th round started in January. There are 26 chapters in the agreement, including goods, services, investments, and intellectual property rights. The Indian industry is demanding greater access for its skilled professionals from sectors like IT and healthcare in the UK market, besides market access for several goods at nil customs duty. On the other hand, the UK is seeking a significant cut in import duties on goods such as scotch whiskey, electric vehicles, lamb meat, chocolates, and certain confectionary items. Britain is also looking for more opportunities for UK services in Indian markets in segments like telecommunications, legal and financial services (banking and insurance). The bilateral trade between India and the UK increased to $20.36 billion in 2022-23 from $17.5 billion in 2021-22. On the India-European Union (EU) trade pact, the ministry said the eighth round of talks is scheduled from June 24-28 in Brussels. On May 7, the stocktaking meeting on the agreement between the Indian commerce secretary and EU director general was held. The last round of talks were completed in February. Further, the chief negotiators of India and South American nation Peru are likely to hold the next rounds of talks for a proposed FTA in July. Seven rounds of talks have been completed so far.
Source : Business Standard
Synopsis India plans to establish an SOP for negotiating FTAs, addressing labor, environment, gender, and indigenous peoples. The Chintan Shivir will discuss strategies for FTAs, including the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and critical minerals. New Delhi: India plans to put in place a standard operating procedure (SOP) for negotiating its free trade agreements and address new disciplines such as labour, environment, gender and indigenous peoples. The commerce and industry ministry will meet former negotiators and experts over a two-day Chintan Shivir to discuss India's strategy and SOPs on its FTAs and address measures such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, critical minerals and Artificial Intelligence in trade negotiations. "We are doing many FTAs and need SOPs on how to go about them. Technical issues such as capacity building, how to approach different countries and how to do an economic analysis would be discussed," said an official. To be held on May 16-17, the discussions will focus on India's FTA strategy, and economic assessment and modelling. "It is important to know about the utilisation of the various FTAs," said another official. Government think-tanks will also participate in the consultations. India's goods and services exports in FY24 were at an all-time high of $778.2 billion, up 0.23% from $776.4 billion in 2022-23. The country has inked trade pacts with Mauritius, the UAE, Australia and European Free Trade Association since 2021. The discussions scheduled this week assume significance as India is negotiating trade pacts with the UK, the EU, Peru, and a comprehensive trade deal with Australia. It is also in talks with the Eurasian Economic Union for a trade agreement. Earlier this week, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said that the FTA with the EU is a difficult one because there are a lot of non-trade issues involved in it.
Source: The Economic Times
Synopsis Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi emphasized the importance of increasing Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) to boost India's financial services exports during a workshop on financial services in FTAs. The event, jointly organized by the Department of Financial Services (DFS) and Exim Bank, aimed to explore the role of financial services in FTAs and their impact on global trade and economic development. Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi on Wednesday said increasing Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) would be a key strategy for enhancing India's financial services exports. Inaugurating a workshop on financial services in FTAs here, Joshi highlighted the pivotal role of financial services in India's export strategy. The workshop organised jointly by Department of Financial Services (DFS) and Exim Bank brought together key stakeholders from the government bodies and academia to delve into the intricate dynamics of FTAs and the pivotal role of financial services in the new-age FTAs. India has significant potential to capitalise on the growing demand for financial services globally, particularly with the emergence of GIFT City as a major hub for financial services, Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) said in a statement "In 2022-23, financial services exports reached USD 7.8 billion, recording a CAGR of 12.6 per cent during 2018-19 to 2022-23. The upward trend continued in 2023-24, with financial services exports recording an increase of 12.7 per cent in the first three quarters, to reach USD 6.5 billion," Exim Bank Managing Director Harsha Bangari said. The workshop aimed to foster a deeper understanding of the role of financial services within the context of FTA negotiation and their implications for global trade and economic development.
Source : The Economic Times
Synopsis As per a report of economic think-tank GTRI, the escalation of the trade war between the US and China may push Beijing to dump goods in the Indian markets. New Delhi: India has a strong institutional mechanism to prevent any potential dumping of goods from China following the US’ decision to increase tariffs on key imports such as electric vehicles, an official said Wednesday, adding that Washington’s decision indicates that “no country is willing to put all their eggs in one basket post the Covid-19 pandemic”. The US on Tuesday announced plans to slap new tariffs on Chinese EVs, advanced batteries, solar cells, steel, aluminium and medical equipment. India is also following a policy to ensure the country has domestic capability for manufacturing of EVs, the official said, adding that India’s policy is sound and its is speculative to worry. “We have our DGTR system, our effective anti-dumping system. So, in case somebody wants to dump, we have all the institutional mechanism to look at it. We will do that accordingly,” the official said. The DGTR or Directorate General of Trade Remedies is an investigation arm of the commerce and industry ministry that deals with trade remedies. Emphasising that the US wants to lower dependence on China, the official said: “Everyone has seen post-Covid that it is not a good idea to keep all your eggs in the same basket. And all nations, including the US, want to build their own capacity to facilitate energy transition”. As per a report of economic think-tank GTRI, the escalation of the trade war between the US and China may push Beijing to dump goods in the Indian markets. India, just like any other country, will not depend on one nation alone for imports, especially when mobility is concerned, the official said. “We are also building up our capacities. We are also taking various measures so that India should not have to depend on one country source for important sectors like vehicles,” the official added.
Source: Economic Times
In a bid to accelerate bilateral talks for a comprehensive free trade deal, India and Australia have agreed to exchange monthly data on preferential imports under the interim trade pact that came into force in late December 2022, even as negotiations for a trade deal with the UK are now at an advanced stage. An agreement to share import data between India and Australia, the first such arrangement under India’s free trade agreements (FTAs) so far, was reached late last month, Commerce Ministry officials said. While the two sides are in the midst of negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Agreement (CECA), India’s exports to Australia rose 14% in financial year 2023-24 to almost $8 billion. On the US government’s decision to hike tariffs on a slew of imports from China, including electric vehicles (EVs), EV batteries, semiconductors and solar cells and medical equipment, officials said it would be speculative to assume that this would result in such goods being dumped in India. “We don’t see any need to worry and we already have an institutional anti-dumping mechanism in place to deal with such eventualities,” a senior official said, stressing that all countries, including the US, are looking to reduce their dependence on China for important sectors.
Source: The Hindu
India is electing a new government that will assume office within a few weeks. External trade and economic engagement will be a high priority for the new government. India must keep increasing its commercial presence in global markets for becoming the third largest economy by 2030. Capturing greater shares of global markets is also necessary for increasing geopolitical influence. India’s external trade policy is of great significance in this regard. The policy will need to be crafted after noting the key developments that would impact global trade in the foreseeable future. Re-globalisation has gathered momentum and will impact global trade. Some views suggest globalisation is over and the world economy is reorganising into a structure reflecting divisive fault lines of the Cold War era. Globalisation, though, is far from over. The economic globalisation the world witnessed from 1980s onwards is making way for a new process. This re-globalisation is transformative and characterised by new actors. The latter comprise a bunch of economies that are becoming the new hubs of global production. These include emerging market economies like Mexico, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Nigeria. The global significance of these countries arises from the re-allocation of global investments devoted to manufacturing. The US-China major power rivalry and reciprocal restrictions on bilateral flows of goods, technology, and data, are major drivers of the relocation. The process is likely to intensify if Donald Trump is elected as the next US President
Source: Financial Express
Synopsis Modi government's infrastructure upgrade includes a vast network of roads, bridges, and high-speed trains. The transformation extends to invisible sectors like ports, with Chabahar Port key to India's geopolitical strategy. The International North-South Transport Corridor will boost trade with Europe and Russia, while ongoing port development supports Modi's vision of a manufacturing powerhouse. Construction of a gargantuan network of roads, highways, tunnels, bridges, airports, metros and high-speed trains is the showpiece of the Narendra Modi government. But one crucial piece of Modi's massive infrastructure upgrade remains invisible to voters. "There is deeper transformation going on behind the scenes, too, in sectors with which most Indians have no direct contact but which affect their lives all the same. One of these is ports, which has seen huge improvement in capacity and efficiency," The Economist wrote last week. "India's politicians are often criticised for focusing on visible outcomes. But fixing infrastructure most voters do not see and simplifying rules most do not consider show that the state is capable of enacting deeper reform," wrote The Economist. WIth India signing a deal with Iran to manage its Chabahar Port for the next 10 years, Modi's port play has come to light. This is the first time India will take over management of a port overseas. The port, which is seen as India's key connectivity link to Afghanistan, Central Asia and the larger Eurasian space, will help counterbalance Pakistan's Gwadar port as well as China's Belt and Road Initiative. Chabahar has highlighted how India is expanding its geopolitical power by countering Chinese and Pakistani influence in the region and creating strategic footholds in other countries. But Chabahar is also part of the ongoing port development in India which is a key component of Modi's aim to turn the country into a manufacturing powerhouse. The Chabahar port pact should be music to the ears of domestic traders and exporters, ET has written. This is because the port will also serve as a key node in the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a multimodal transportation network that aims to connect South Asia to Europe and Russia via Iran. The government says plans are underway to connect Chabahar to the INSTC, allowing Indian traders to reach Central Asia with greater ease and more costeffectively. Trade experts explain that this will mean efficient access to Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, and the Baltic and Nordic countries — and not just the 11 countries in Central Asia. They also point out that the INSTC is being seen as an alternative to the Suez Canal trade route which remains vulnerable to regional conflicts. Energy, pharmaceuticals, information technology, health, agriculture, textiles, and gems and jewellery can benefit greatly once India starts leveraging Chabahar port for the INSTC route, Nisha Taneja, a professor at Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), has told ET. While the Chabahar port pact has hogged the headlines due to its geopolitical importance and the risk it carries of US sanctions against India, a silent transformation of India's port sector is on which doesn't figure prominently in popular discourse since ports are not visible to everyone like highways and trains are. Inaugurating three major infrastructure projects in Kochi in January, Modi said Indian ports have achieved double-digit annual growth in the past 10 years and beaten many developed nations in ship turnaround time. Earlier, ships had to wait long hours at ports and unloading took very long. "Today, the situation has changed," he said. The capacity at India's dozen major ports has doubled in the past 10 years from 745 mt to over 1,600 mt, The Economist has written. Traffic at these ports, which handle more than half of India's trade, jumped by 46% to 795 mt in the 10 years to 2023. Turnaround time, or the number of hours between the arrival and departure of a cargo ship, has plummeted from 127 hours in 2010-11 to 53 hours ten years later. The maritime sector accounts for 95% of India's trade by volume and 65% by value. India's ambition to become a manufacturing powerhouse as well as the world's factory got a boost with a key project by the Adani Group getting the government nod recently. Adani's Vizhinjam Port in Kerala has received the shipping ministry's approval for operating as India's first transshipment port. It will be India's first fullfledged deepwater transshipment port. Located strategically between the Suez Canal and the Strait of Malacca, the port will put India on the map of global sea trade. The proximity to the international shipping routes that account for 30% of global cargo traffic and a natural channel that goes up to 24 meters below the sea makes the port an ideal hub for some of the world’s biggest ships to call in, as per Bloomberg. Until now, the biggest container ships have been skipping India because its harbors weren’t deep enough to handle such vessels and docking at neighboring ports such as Colombo, Dubai, Singapore and Malaysia. Ports play a crucial role in making a nation a powerhouse of manufacturing and exports. China is the prime example: the country has seven of the 10 busiest container ports in the world. Poor shipping connectivity has hindered India’s integration into the global value chain, the Reserve Bank of India said in a 2022 report. India’s container traffic was only 17 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit, is a measure of volume in units of twenty-foot long containers) in 2020 versus China’s 245 million TEUs, the ports ministry in February. That makes India’s container traffic less than 10% of China’s. To boost its cargo handling capacity and host large vessels, India is constructing another port, the Vadhavan port in Dahanu, 150 km north of Mumbai. India's maritime vision Ports at Vizhinjam and Vadhavan are part of the government's Maritime India Vision 2030 that seeks to develop world-class mega ports, transshipment hubs and modernize infrastructure. As part of the Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, India has six mega ports on the anvil as part of its maritime expansion plans. According to official estimates, around Rs 15-20 lakh crore of this investment will be needed in raising the country's port handling capacity by 2047. This investment will come handy for increasing port handling capacity by four times, creating maritime clusters along Indian ports, and developing three islands as hubs for bunkering, ship repair, and Vessel Spares and Stores, among others.
Source: The Economic Times
Negotiators for the India-UK free trade agreement have made substantial progress and the work is on to resolve pending issues as early as possible, a senior official said Wednesday. Officials from both sides had met last month in London and chapterwise textual negotiations are nearly closed and schedules on goods and services are in an advanced stage of negotiations, he said. “Work is in progress on resolving pending issues.” The India-UK FTA has 26 chapters or policy areas and the schedules in FTA deal with tariffs which each side will impose on goods from other countries under the agreement. So far India and Uk have held 13 rounds of negotiations on the FTA and the 14th round which started in January is in progress. On the India-European Union (EU) trade pact, the official said that the eighth round of talks is scheduled from June 24-28 in Brussels. Before the 8th round of talks both sides have decided to meet virtual meetings on some of the chapters that are part of the proposed agreement. The India-Eu FTA has 23 chapters. On May 7, the stocktaking meeting was held on the agreement between the Indian commerce secretary and EU director General. The last round of talks were completed in February. The official said that the 8th round of talks on India-Peru FTA is expected to take place in July. The seventh round of talks were held in New Delhi in April. In between the two meetings. Officials from both sides will engage virtually to take the negotiations forward. Before the 8th round both sides are aiming to exchange offers on goods and services that will give speed to the conclusion of the talks. “Stakeholder consultation is in progress for the same,” the official added.
Source: Financial Express
US President Joe Biden's plan to levy high tariffs on a host of Chinese products, including electric vehicles (EVs), batteries, and medical supplies, will likely benefit Indian exporters, government officials and trade experts believe. Higher duties on Chinese face masks, syringes, needles, medical gloves and natural graphite could aid Indian exports of these products. By scaling up production and exports of these sough-after products, India stands to boost its presence in the US market, they said. The White House on Tuesday hiked tariffs on Chinese EVs from 25% to 100%, the doubled levies on solar cells from 25% to 50% and tripled the duty on certain steel and aluminium products from 7.5% or less to 25%. Tariffs on non-lithium-ion battery parts shipped from China to the US will also increase from 7.5% to 25%. Previously untaxed Chinese items such as face masks, critical minerals, and ship-to-shore cranes will now be subject to a 25% tariff. Washington has reportedly said that these tariffs will hit an estimated $18 billion worth of imports from China. “It will certainly open gates for Indian products in the markets of developed economies," said a senior government official, who wished not to be named. “The US is one of the major export markets for most Indian goods, such as diamonds, medical appliances and accessories, agricultural products, refined petroleum, rice, textiles, and apparel, among others." That said, experts also cautioned about the possible dumping of Chinese goods in India. With the US and EU facing reduced imports of Chinese EVs due to tariff hikes, Beijing might divert these products to other markets, including India. Opportunities for India "Certain medical products, including PPE kits, syringes, gloves, and others, will enter the US market. India's position as the second-largest producer of PPE kits, masks, face masks, syringes, needles, and medical gloves will give us a significant advantage, allowing us to benefit from this opportunity," said Ajay Sahai, director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO). To be sure, India is not a leading manufacturer of every Chinese item now facing a tariff hike – China, for instance, is the world's largest manufacturer of EVs, whereas Indian EV production is negligible. However, the story may be slightly different for some other items. In March 2024, exports of medical plastics, including syringes, catheters, cannulae, and spectacle lenses, surged by 10.4%, reaching $48.7 million from $44.1 million in March 2023. India has the potential to ramp up its manufacturing capacities in certain segments to tap into opportunities resulting from the high tariffs imposed by the US on Chinese products, making them less competitive, Sahai said. He also added there were potential export opportunities in aluminium and steel. In FY24, Indian exports to the US saw a marginal decrease of 1.32%, totalling $77.5 billion compared to $78.54 billion in 2022-23. Simultaneously, imports from the US declined approximately 20%, amounting to $40.8 billion, according to data from the commerce ministry. Implications of US-China trade tensions “These proposed increases are a part of the US's broader strategy under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, aimed at combating what it deems as unfair trade practices by China," said Ajay Srivastava, the founder of Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI). Katherine Tai, the US Trade Representative, emphasized that these measures are necessary to counter the flooding of global markets with low-cost Chinese products. In 2023, the US imported goods worth $427 billion from China and exported $148 billion, highlighting a significant trade imbalance. However, the GTRI said the proposed tariff increases exceed the US's bound duty commitments at the World Trade Organization, potentially violating WTO provisions. “The US has increasingly justified these increases under the rarely used National Security clause." “Developed countries, including the US and EU, are increasingly embracing protectionist measures through routine tariff increases that exceed their WTO commitments and substantial subsidy programs aimed at boosting local production. This shift signals a prioritization of industrial policy over trade policy, reflecting a broader trend towards economic self-reliance," GTRI's Srivastava said. “The new tariffs are another hit to supply chains as they try to manage ongoing risks and build resiliency. Whenever tariffs are increased, regardless of the rationale for doing so, the impact goes beyond cost increases to companies and consumers," said John Donigian, senior director of supply chain strategy at Moody’s.
Source: Live Mint
The clothing and textiles sector matters for global and local economies, representing millions in jobs and US$1.5 trillion in revenue. It, however, struggles to address its contribution to climate change, nature loss and pollution. At the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6), governments called for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to facilitate a Global Textiles Policy Dialogue, aiming to create a space to empower governments to foster circularity across the value chain. The importance of global policy coordination on textiles was highlighted in UNEPs 2023 report, Sustainability and Circularity in the Textile Value Chain - A Global Roadmap. Recognizing the urgency of scaling up policy efforts that minimize negative impacts of the textile value chain on nature, people and economies, the Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and Trkiye Ministry of Trade, with support from UNEP, convened a high-level UNEA-6 side event, Connecting the Threads: A coordinated policy response to transform the textile value chain and offer solutions which preserve nature. At the event, Mustafa Tuzcu, Trkiyes Deputy Minister of Trade, called for UNEP to bring and convene a wide array of governments in an inclusive policy dialogue to facilitate the transition towards a climate neutral, resource efficient and circular textile sector. Panellists acknowledged that tackling the negative environmental impacts of the textile value chain requires a systemic change with lifecycle-based and upstream policies, such as products designed with resource efficiency and circularity principles. To succeed, solutions need to be economically viable for industry and attractive enough for consumers. To bring about policy coherence, we must find sustainable ways to balance consumption and production within a frame of human rights, environmental and sustainability laws, said Ligia Noronha, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the UNEP New York Office. If a just transition is to be achieved, international cooperation is of absolute importance, said Afke van Rijn, Vice Minister for the Environment and International Affairs at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management in the Netherlands. We are happy to share our experiences and work together on strengthening the dialogue and create new standards in the textiles industries. A global policy dialogue allows for more international coordination for policy implementation and to share experience and knowledge on different policy initiatives.
Recognizing the need for global cooperation
The growing popularity of ultra-fast fashion, low-quality products and very low prices, is contributing to an explosion in textile waste, said H.E. Arnaud Suquet, Frances Ambassador to Kenya and UNEP Permanent Representative. We need to start thinking collectively about the issue of textile waste [] and France is ready to get involved. In 2008, France introduced an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme which has helped to increase textile waste collection. A draft law on ultra-fast fashion aims to develop a legal definition, discuss financial penalties for such products within the EPR scheme, increase awareness of its negative impacts, and ban its advertizing. Not only are we interested to learn from the success stories of other countries, we also want to learn from their failures, said Lydia Essuah, Director of Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation at the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation of Ghana. Essuah also highlighted the importance of engaging with local governments, manufacturers, retailers, waste management companies and non-governmental organizations to effectively address the challenge posed by textiles waste and second-hand clothes.
Tunisias Minister of Environment Leila Chikhaoui Mahdaoui, highlighted the importance of the textile industry to her countrys economy. The industry represents more than 5 per cent of national gross domestic product and 29.3 per cent of the total workforce in 2021. To transform the textile value chain, Mahdaoui advocated for research partnerships and knowledge transfer in emerging technology in textile materials, production and recycling, alongside enhancing access to finance and the establishment of internationally agreed durability labels.Sagar Shah, Manager of Kenyas Alpha Knits Ltd, welcomed policies encouraging skills development and training programmes as well as the development of certifications. Bahar Guclu, Deputy Director General of Trkiyes Ministry of Trade underlined the need to consider the socio-economic impacts of textiles regulatory frameworks, and shift from price-driven to value and sustainability-driven competition.
Harnessing climate, biodiversity and pollution frameworks
Participants emphasized the need for the Global Textiles Policy Dialogue to leverage existing policy work on climate change (Paris Agreement), biodiversity (Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework) and pollution (Global Framework on Chemicals). It is very important that we continue to work through the existing international policy tools [] such as the Stockholm Convention on chemical regulation, said Swedens Minister for Climate and the Environment Romina Pourmokhtari. She referred to the proposal Sweden and France made within the European Union, to include textiles in the Basel Convention to improve traceability of waste or second-hand textile imports and exports. Speakers agreed that the Global Textiles Policy Dialogue should be government-led and inclusive. UNEP would be happy to support such a policy dialogue, said Noronha.
Source: Miragenew
Global shares rose while the dollar retreated on Wednesday, after a hot reading of U.S. wholesale inflation set a nervous tone for trading ahead of the consumer price report that could prove decisive in when the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates. The frenzy in so-called meme stocks entered a third day, with shares in AMC and GameStop soaring by more than 25% in premarket trading. The MSCI All-World share index traded at a record high, up 0.15% on the day, which brought gains for 2024 so far to 8.3%. Price action was more subdued as investors were reluctant to push any market too aggressively one way or another ahead of the monthly U.S. consumer price index later in the day. In European trading, the STOXX rose 0.3%, buoyed largely by healthcare shares, while U.S. stock futures were broadly flat on the day, indicating a more muted start on Wall Street, where activity the previous day centred on the meme-stock rally. The boom has drawn parallels with the meme-stock craze that gripped markets in early 2021, where retail traders, using trading platforms and social media investment advice pumped up the value of stocks that many large investors had bet heavily against. "I wonder whether this is a bit of speculative excess and reality will eventually kick in perhaps with CPI today," Pepperstone strategist Michael Brown said. "The bar is very high for the market to dramatically reprice in a hawkish direction," he said, referring to the chances of a rise in U.S. rates this year. Investors do not anticipate any rate hikes in 2024, but they have had to dial back their expectations for rate cuts, given how sticky inflation is. They currently price in 43 basis points in cuts by December, compared with 150 bps in cuts anticipated at the start of 2024. Data overnight showed U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in April, indicating that inflation remained stubbornly high early in the second quarter. HOT OR NOT? Fed Chair Jerome Powell called the PPI data "mixed" rather than "hot" because the prior month's data was revised lower. "Market anticipation of rate cuts has been building recently based on weaker-thanexpected U.S. labour market data, but if prices don't follow suit, then rate-cut hopes will be dashed," said Ryan Brandham, head of global capital markets, North America at Validus Risk Management. CPI is expected to have risen by 0.4% in April, matching March's increase, according to a Reuters poll. Powell reiterated his message of caution over rate cut expectations, although the Fed chief, along with Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, poured cold water over the notion of rate hikes, ING economists said. "That doesn't necessarily sound like someone who is expecting a great CPI number today." In China, stocks eased with the blue-chip index down 0.27%, weighed down by fresh U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, which in turn knocked iron ore prices lower. U.S. President Joe Biden unveiled a bundle of steep tariff increases on an array of Chinese imports including electric vehicles, computer chips and medical products. In the currency market, the dollar held steady ahead of the CPI report, with the euro rising 0.1% to a one-month high of $1.0833. The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six others, was down 0.2% at 104.86. The yen was last at 155.97 per dollar, around its weakest in two weeks, keeping traders wary of more intervention from Japanese authorities. The yen touched a 34-year low of 160.245 per dollar on April 29, triggering rounds of aggressive yen-buying that traders and analysts suspect was the work of the Bank of Japan and Japanese finance ministry. In commodities, oil prices edged higher as large wildfires threatened Canada's oil sands and ahead of an expected drop in U.S. crude oil and gasoline inventories. [O/R] U.S. crude was up 0.6% at $78.47 a barrel, while Brent crude was up 0.5% at $82.78.
Source: Money Control
