Indian trade negotiators, who head to Washington DC this week ahead of formal launch of talks, may explore an "early tranche" that covers a limited set of issues, even as New Delhi and Washington seek to close negotiations quickly, possibly ahead of the fall deadline, as per a TOI report. The proposed deal, outlined across 19 chapters, will cover key regulatory matters like digital taxation, along with tariff reductions and non-tariff measures. It sets the framework for which issues will be addressed and how technical elements—such as rules of origin and customs procedures—will be handled during negotiations. However, concrete offers will be presented at a later stage.
Source: The Economic Times
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to visit UK, Norway, and Brussels from April 28 to fast-track FTAs with UK, EU, and EFTA. With major trade deals nearing closure, India aims to boost exports and secure global supply chains amid rising global economic urgency.
The economic deal making worldwide has reached a feverish pace after US President Donald Trump initiated unilateral tariff increases that have left no country untouched. Faced with uncertainty every country is talking to whoever they can for deals that protect their exports and supply chains. In this process each country seems willing to be more open to trade and imports. The urgency seen in the case of the UK and EU to finish the negotiations that have been going on in some form or the other for the past 17 years is the case in point.
The fastest trade pact that India is expected to sign will be with the US. While the deadline for completing negotiations for the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) is autumn, officials expect to beat that deadline.
Source: The Financial Express
Developed nations, once critical of tariffs, are now employing them to protect domestic industries, echoing arguments previously made by developing countries. The US, for example, has imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum. This shift signals a change in global trade dynamics, with advanced economies prioritizing livelihood protection and questioning established principles like special treatment for developing nations.
Source: The Economic Times
ISLAMABAD - Textile exports witnessed an increase of 9.38 percent during the first three quarters of the current financial year (July-March) as compared to the corresponding period of last year, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported.
The textile exports from the country were recorded at $13,613.702 million during the July-March (2024-25) against the exports of $12,445.935 million during July-March (2023-24). The textile commodities that contributed in trade growth included cotton cloth the export of which increased by 0.11 percent to $1,424.503 million from $1,422.886 million while the export of knitwear surged by 16.82 percent to $3,785.369 million from $3,240.272 million. The other commodities that witnessed growth in trade included bed wear, the export of which rose by 13.70 percent to $2,374.260 million from $2,088.267 million, towels by 4.46 percent to $818.733 million from $783.799 million; tents, canvas, and tarpaulin up by 14.46 percent to $101.135 million this year compared to the exports of $ 88.359 million last year.
Source: The Nation
The Egyptian Government has announced plans to establish two integrated textile cities in Upper Egypt. One will be located in the Minya’s Wadi El-Saririya area and the other in the northern industrial zone of Fayoum. Each city will cover an area of 5.5 million square metres, making a total of 11 million square metres, TV BRICS reports.
Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Minister of Industry and Transport, Kamel Al-Wazir, unveiled the initiative at a press conference.
The two cities are expected to attract US$3.5 billion in local and foreign investment and create 400,000 direct and indirect jobs. This is reported by Daily News Egypt, a partner of TV BRICS.
Source: Business Recorder
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, after his visit to Washington, the United States, this week, explained that currently Indonesian textile and garment products are subject to import tariffs reaching up to 47 percent, significantly higher than the previous range of 10 to 37 percent.
The tariff increase, according to Airlangga Hartarto, is a direct impact of the additional 10 percent import duty imposed by the United States government. He also emphasized that this policy has a significant impact on the competitiveness of Indonesian export products in the U.S. market. The additional costs arising from this tariff policy are considered to increase the burden on Indonesian exporters, especially because American buyers request that these additional costs be shared with the exporters, rather than solely borne by the buyer.
During his U.S. visit, Airlangga held several meetings with senior American officials, including a key discussion with U.S. Trade Minister Howard Lutnick. In their talks, both sides focused on resolving differences over import tariff policies through diplomatic negotiations.
Source: Tempo
