In a report on developments in India’s trade policy on the occasion of the seventh Trade Policy Review of India during January 6 – 8, 2021, World Trade Organization (WTO) has noted “export restrictions and import prohibitions imposed by India seem to be in contradiction with its main trade policy goal, of increasing its share of global exports from 2% in 2015 to 3.5% by 2020”. Four areas which have come under WTO focus are (i) high import tariff and frequent changes thereof, minimum import prices and other import restrictions; (ii) export taxes, export restrictions/licensing; (iii) frequent use of anti-dumping measures; (iv) high subsidies and need to reduce these to free up resources for investment particularly in development of the infrastructure....
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Category: Quantitative Restrictions (QRs)
No big deal
Staying clear of the optics and bonhomie on display all through the US President’s recent visit to India , one gets a sense that the road to even a limited trade deal is thorny Prior to the maiden visit of US President Donald Trump to India, there was a sense of dejection about the possibility of the US and India signing even a limited trade deal, leave aside a major one. This is to be seen in the backdrop of the absence of United States Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer from the delegation. Earlier, too, Lighthizer had cancelled a visit to New Delhi when he was scheduled to wrap up discussions on a trade agreement. However, the mood was buoyant at the...
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Trade deal – forget big, even mini unlikely
Prior to the maiden visit of President, Donald Trump to India [February 24 – 25, 2020], there was a sense of dejection about the possibility of US and India signing even a limited trade deal not to talk of a ‘big deal’. This is to be seen in the backdrop of the United States Trade Representative [USTR], Robert Lighthizer [the point man who has the onerous responsibility of formulating US trade policy and negotiating trade pacts with countries world-wide] not being part of the delegation. Earlier, Lighthizer had cancelled a visit to New Delhi when he was scheduled to wrap up discussion on a trade deal. However, on conclusion of the visit, the mood is buoyant. This was reflected in...
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Shed the protectionist mindset
Keeping in mind the criticality of being an integral part of the global supply chain to achieve a $5 trillion economy, India needs to reconsider its decision on RCEP The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a conglomeration of 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) viz. Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, The Philippines, Myanmar, Brunei, Laos and Cambodia plus six others viz. Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, China and India. If it really sees the light of day with all 16 members intact, the group will cover 3.6 billion people or almost 50 per cent of the world’s population and account for nearly 40 per cent of the global GDP (Gross Domestic Product). India is...
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Trump is hell-bent on decimating WTO
Ever since Donald Trump took charge as US President, he has made systematic efforts to demolish the very foundation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) which is at the centre of ‘free’ and ‘fair’ trade based on transparent and non-discriminatory rules. At the 11th WTO ministerial conference held in Buenos Aires in December 2017, the US rejected the demand of developing countries to find a “permanent solution” to stockholding for food security which was agreed to four years ago at the 9th ministerial in Bali. Worse, it has dumped the Doha Development Agenda (DDA), which has been assiduously pursued by all members of WTO since 2001. Second, in complete defiance of rules under WTO, it has hiked import duty on...
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US law makers game plan to kill H-1B jobs
On April 18, 2017, President Donald Trump signed an executive order called “Buy American, Hire American”, directing federal agencies to review the H-1B visa program with the aim to end alleged ‘fraud’ and ‘abuse’ and ensure only the “most-skilled and highest-paid applicants” were successfully processed. [H-1B visas are issued to foreigners who have ‘theoretical’ and ‘technical’ expertise in specialized areas to work in local [read American] companies for temporary period.] As a follow up, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services [USCIS] which administers these visas, is already implementing measures which severely restrict or delay grant of such visas. These include inter alia stop ‘premium’ processing of applications, more rigorous interview/procedural requirements, denial of employment to spouses of those already working...
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New visa regime to hit growth, competitiveness of US firms
A senior official of the Trump administration has lambasted three leading Indian information technology companies — Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and Cognizant Technologies — for resorting to ‘trickery’ for allegedly grabbing most of H1-B visas issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The H1-B visas are issued to foreigners who have ‘theoretical’ and ‘technical’ expertise in specialised areas to work in local (read American) companies for a temporary period. The US issues 85,000 such visas every year — 65,000 hired from abroad and 20,000 from those enrolled in the US universities/colleges. Due to the heavy demand, the USCIS which runs the programme, receives several times more applications than it can grant and uses an electronic lottery to...
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