Tag: imports

China’s August exports rise 9.8 percent, imports up 20 percent

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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China’s export growth weakened slightly in August to 9.8 percent from a year earlier, suggesting China’s massive foreign trade sector is losing some momentum as Washington readies more sweeping measures in the two countries’ ongoing trade war.

Exports are one of China’s key growth drivers, and a loss of momentum will pile more pressure on its already cooling economy and global trade.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast shipments from the world’s largest exporter would rise 10.1 percent in August from a year earlier, slowing only slightly from 12.2 percent in July.

Imports grew 20.0 percent, customs data showed on Saturday, beating forecasts.

Analysts had expected imports to rise 18.7 percent, slowing from July’s surprisingly high 27.3 percent.

China posted a smaller trade surplus of $27.91 billion for the month. Analysts had expected the surplus would rise to $31.79 billion from $28.05 billion in July.

The world’s largest trading nation got off to a strong start this year, but its economic outlook is being clouded by the rapidly escalating U.S. trade dispute and cooling domestic demand.

President Donald Trump said last week he is prepared to quickly ramp up the trade war and is expected to impose duties on another $200 billion of Chinese imports soon. Beijing has vowed to retaliate.

Trump warned on Friday he was ready to slap tariffs on virtually all Chinese imports into the United States, threatening duties on another $267 billion of goods on top of $200 billion.

China’s export data has been surprising resilient to several rounds of tit-for-tat tariffs so far, possibly as companies ramped up shipments before stiffer U.S. duties go into effect, but factory surveys have shown export orders have been shrinking for several months.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Rupee hits record low at 70.52 against US dollar

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The rupee hit a record low at 70.52 against the US dollar on Wednesday, hurt by fresh demand for the American currency from importers.

In early trade, the rupee had weakened 22 paise to 70.32, and had slipped to 70.39, against the US dollar.

Traders said besides fresh demand of the US currency from importers, dollar’s strength against some currencies overseas weighed on the domestic unit.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) likely sold dollars, though the force was mild, two senior forex officials at state-run banks told Reuters.”The RBI is not trying to protect any level unlike when the rupee was at 69 and it was trying to protect that level,” an official told the agency.

Yesterday, the local currency had bounced back in a tepid fashion from the record closing low, gaining 6 paise to end at 70.10 against the US currency.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex rose nearly 100 points to hit another record of 38,989.65, and Nifty too hit a peak of 11,751.05, up 12.55 points or 0.11 percent.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

State refiners drive India’s July Iran oil imports to a record level

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India’s monthly oil imports from Iran surged by about 30 percent to a record 768,000 barrels per day (bpd) in July, as state refiners’ intake surged ahead of US sanctions in November, preliminary tanker arrival data obtained by Reuters showed.

The shipments also include some parcels that were loaded in June and arrived in India last month, the data obtained from trade sources showed.

July volumes were about 85 percent higher than year ago shipments of about 415,000 bpd, the data showed.

State refiners that had cut imports from Iran in 2017-18 due to a dispute over development rights of a giant gas field, have tied up significantly higher volumes for this fiscal year that began in April, drawn to the discounts offered by Iran.

Tehran had offered almost free shipping and an extended credit period for oil sales to India, its top oil client after China.

Iran was hoping to sell more than 500,000 bpd of oil to India in 2018-19, its oil minister Bijan Zanganeh said in February.

State refiners accounted for about four-fifth of Iranian oil imports in July with Indian Oil Corp along with its unit Chennai Petroleum Corp getting about 300,000 bpd oil from Tehran, the preliminary data showed.

In April-July, the first four months of this fiscal year, India’s oil imports from Iran has risen by an annual 40 percent to about 677,500 bpd, the data showed.

Purchases from Iran could slow from August as imports from Tehran are getting tougher after the United States in May pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal and announced the renewal of sanctions against Tehran.

Some sanctions will take effect from August 6 while others, notably on the petroleum sector, will take effect on Nov 4.

Last month, state-run Hindustan Petroleum had to cancel an Iranian oil shipment as insurers were not willing to provide cover for its two refineries for processing Iranian oil, sources with knowledge of the matter said.

HPCL will not buy Iranian oil in August, its chairman M. K. Surana said on Tuesday, and did not comment if the company would resume buying Iranian oil from next month.

To keep its shipment flowing Iran has offered insurance for oil cargo and ships to supply oil to India, its top oil client after China.

In January-July, India’s oil imports from Iran rose by more than 17 percent to about 612,000 bpd, the data showed.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

HPCL cancels Iran oil shipment after insurer excludes coverage

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India’s Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) cancelled the purchase of an Iranian oil cargo earlier this month after its insurance company refused to provide coverage for the crude because of US sanctions, three sources with knowledge of the matter said.

HPCL, India’s third-biggest state-owned refiner, renewed its installation insurance, which protects against any accidents at its refinery or storage sites, in early July. However, the new policy would not protect against any incidents involving Iranian oil processed or stored at its refineries, the sources said.

The refiner had planned to load 1 million barrels of Iranian crude onto the Suezmax tanker Ankaleshwar in early July but cancelled the purchase after it was unable to sell it on to another buyer, said the sources who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

India is the second-biggest buyer of Iranian crude after China and without insurance coverage to protect their plants, the country’s refineries may have to cut off their imports earlier than anticipated.

The United States said in May it plans to re-impose some sanctions against Iran starting in August, with full sanctions in place by November, after withdrawing from a 2015 accord with Iran limiting its nuclear program.

“HPCL faced problems in lifting cargo from Iran because its annual insurance policy was renewed in July after the US pulled out of the nuclear deal in May,” said one of the sources, adding the company will not be able to lift any Iranian oil.

HPCL‘s Iranian imports account for only 20,000 barrels per day (bpd) of its full demand of 316,000 bpd but other Indian refiners that take larger volumes are likely to face the same problem if their annual policy is up for renewal before November.

HPCL did not respond to requests from Reuters for a comment.

Companies have until Nov. 4 to fully wind down activities with Iran or risk exclusion from the US financial system. However, banks, shipping firms and insurance companies are already cutting ties with Iran and without financing or insurance coverage refiners will have to halt their purchases.

Iran had hoped to sell more than 500,000 bpd of oil to India during the current fiscal year that started in April, Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said in February.

However, the insurance issues may mean a reduction in imports even as India is intent on continuing dealings with Iran.

“The problem in procuring Iranian barrels appears to be happening much before the Nov. 4 deadline,” said Senthil Kumaran, a senior analyst at consultants FGE. “Most of the reinsurance market is based in the US so without the blessing of the US, Iranian oil buyers will find it almost impossible to take and process Iranian cargoes.”

Indian insurers rely on state-run General Insurance Corp for reinsurance, which depends on western re-insurers to hedge its risk. General Insurance did not reply to a request for comment.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Global automakers hail more ships as trade battles heat up

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Automakers are scrambling to ship vehicles to the United States to pre-empt possible higher tariffs, according to port data, port officials and logistics companies.

Data from a number of US ports showed a surge in vehicle exports and imports in May, as US President Donald Trump ratcheted up pressure on China and Europe to drop tariffs on US vehicles and make other changes to their trade practices. May is the most recent month for which figures are available.

The Trump administration’s tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese imports are due to go into effect at 0401 GMT on Friday, which is just after midday in Beijing.

In the United States, the ports of Baltimore, Jacksonville, Florida; and Brunswick, Georgia – the three leading US ports for importing automobiles – in May unloaded a combined 23,000 more cars than they did a year earlier. Auto exports out of Baltimore and Jacksonville that month were up 39% and 19%, respectively, port officials said.

At the port of Long Beach, whose auto customers include Toyota Motor Corp and also Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz, vehicle imports were up 3.4% in May, but exports were down 24% at 1,679 units.

Vehicle imports in Norfolk, Virginia, rose more than 350% to 3,782 vehicles, partly due to General Motors Co importing some cars from Mexico by sea to circumvent US rail network problems.

According to DataStream, which has weekly railcar loading data by product type, the four-week rolling sum of automobile car loadings hit a 14-month high in early-to-mid-May.

The increase in vehicles landing in the United States was not preceded by a surge in sales. US sales of some European and Asian autos, including BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota, are flat to down this year.

Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Toyota and Nissan Motor Co Ltd did not respond to requests for comment.

Trump said on Friday his administration’s investigation into whether to increase tariffs on cars from the European Union and other trading partners would be completed in three to four weeks.

Last week two major auto trade groups warned that imposing tariffs on imported vehicles would cost hundreds of thousands of auto jobs, dramatically hike prices on vehicles and threaten industry spending on self-driving cars.

Even without tariffs, automakers and analysts were already expecting US new vehicle sales to fall in 2018 versus last year, creating a highly competitive market.

Tariffs could force automakers to either raise car prices or absorb the higher cost.

A 25% tariff could, for instance, add $8,000 to $10,000 or more to the price an imported BMW 3 series sedan, making the luxury vehicle less attractive to buyers versus an American-made car.

In late June, German automaker Daimler warned that new import tariffs on cars exported from the United States to China would hurt sales of high-margin Mercedes-Benz sports utility vehicles and eat into its pretax profit.

As the United States, China and Europe exchanged tariff threats during the spring, global automakers began “a push to speed up delivery to markets where tariffs are scheduled to increase, such as the US,” said a spokeswoman for Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics ASA, which specializes in hauling vehicles by sea.

China’s Tariff Drop

In China, automakers sought to slow down vehicle imports after the government said tariffs on foreign-made vehicles would drop to 15% from 25% as of July 1.

Wang Chun, deputy director of the China Automobile Dealers Association’s import committee, said the group noticed a sharp decrease in car imports and imported vehicle sales in May.

“It’s possible that they were delaying shipping so that they could take advantage of the new tariff effective from July 1st,” Chun said last week.

Chinese port data is not yet available for May, but imports rose 5.7% to more than 4.3 million vehicles in April.

China, which cut tariffs on all imported automobiles this week, plans to slap an additional 25% levy on 545 American products, including US-made cars, starting on Friday, should the Trump administration’s tariffs go into effect.

Ford Motor Co said on Thursday that for now it will not hike prices of imported Ford and higher-margin luxury Lincoln models in China, thus absorbing the cost of the new tariffs.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

India imposes retaliatory tariffs on some US imports

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India on Thursday announced imposition of retaliatory tariffs on some US imports with effect from August 4.

The country has imposed import tariffs on boric acid, artemia, chickpea and lentils.

The US commerce department on Wednesday said it was imposing preliminary anti-subsidy duties on imports of the welded pipe from India.

India had earlier said that the country would raise duties by up to 100% on 20 US goods after Washington imposed additional duties on steel and aluminium.

The duty imposed by US has affected steel exports by $134.4 million, while the same on aluminium was $31.16 million.

Last month, India had given a list of products to the WTO that it said could incur higher tariffs.

Also read: Trump’s ‘my way or highway’ approach puts global order in a great dilemma

>Click here for the full circular on the tariffs

(Inputs from Reuters)

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

US launches national security probe of vehicle imports

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Trump administration on Wednesday launched a national security investigation into car and truck imports that could lead to new US tariffs similar to those imposed on imported steel and aluminium in March.

The Commerce Department said the probe under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 would investigate whether vehicle and parts imports were threatening the industry’s health and ability to research and develop new, advanced technologies.

“There is evidence suggesting that, for decades, imports from abroad have eroded our domestic auto industry,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement, promising a “thorough, fair and transparent investigation.”

The move opens a new front in Trump‘s “America First” trade agenda aimed at clawing back manufacturing jobs lost to overseas competitors.

In addition to the 25 percent tariffs on steel and 10 percent tariffs on aluminium, the administration has threatened tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods over intellectual property complaints. It is also trying to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement to return more auto production to the United States.

Commerce said the probe would determine whether lost domestic production had weakened the US “internal economy” and its ability to develop connected vehicle systems, autonomous vehicles, fuel cells, electric motors and batteries, and advanced manufacturing processes.

In a separate statement, President Donald Trump said: “Core industries such as automobiles and automotive parts are critical to our strength as a Nation.”

A Trump administration official said before the announcement that the expected move was aimed partly at pressuring Canada and Mexico to make concessions in talks to update the NAFTA that have languished in part over auto provisions, as well as pressuring Japan and the European Union, which also export large numbers of vehicles to the United States.

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump teased the announcement in a tweet: “There will be big news coming soon for our great American Autoworkers.

At a meeting with automakers at the White House on May 11, Trump told automakers he was planning to impose tariffs of 20 percent or 25 percent on some imported vehicles, sources told Reuters and specifically criticized German automakers for exporting a large number of vehicles to the United States.

‘FEWER CHOICES, HIGHER PRICES’

An ad hoc industry group representing the largest Japanese, German and other foreign automakers called “Here for America,” criticized the effort.

“The US auto industry is thriving and growing,” said John Bozzella, chief executive of Global Automakers, a trade group representing Toyota, Nissan Motor Co Ltd, Hyundai Motor Co and others, who also speaks for the broader group.

Bozzella noted 12 million cars and trucks were produced in the United States last year. “To our knowledge, no one is asking for this protection. This path leads inevitably to fewer choices and higher prices for cars and trucks in America,” Bozzella said.

Trump has railed against European auto imports and tariffs.

“If the E.U. wants to further increase their already massive tariffs and barriers on US companies doing business there, we will simply apply a Tax on their Cars which freely pour into the US,”Trump wrote on Twitter in March.

“They make it impossible for our cars (and more) to sell there. Big trade imbalance!”

German automakers Volkswagen AG, Daimler AG and BMW AG all have large US assembly plants. The United States is the second-biggest export destination for German auto manufacturers after China, while vehicles and car parts are Germany’s biggest source of export income.

In March, Germany’s automotive industry association said: “A trade war between the USA and Europe must be avoided at all costs. In such a trade war there are only losers on all sides.”

A Wall Street Journal report earlier on Wednesday that the administration was considering launching a Section 232 investigation into auto imports that could see import tariffs of up to 25 percent imposed caused US automaker shares to jump and hit those of overseas companies like Toyota Motor Corp, with its New York-traded shares falling 0.67 percent.

The United States imported 8.3 million vehicles in 2017 worth $192 billion, including 2.4 million from Mexico, 1.8 million from Canada, 1.7 million from Japan, 930,000 from South Korea and 500,000 from Germany, according to US government statistics. At the same time, the United States exported nearly 2 million vehicles worldwide worth $57 billion.

Asked if the measures would hit Mexico and Canada, a Mexican source close to the NAFTA talks said: “That probably is going to be the next battle.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Pulses import from Mozambique to hit farmers hard, despite record harvest

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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In what could be a big setback for the interests of Indian farmers, the government has given green signal for the import of pulses, reported Business Standard.

As per the report, the 1.5 million quintals of tur will be imported under memorandum of understanding (MoU) between India and Mozambique at a time, when farmers have a four times the amount in their stocks.

According to the report, the entire problem originated in 2016-17, when pulse prices sky rocketed due to crop failure.

While the farmers soon increased pulses production, the centre signed a three year MoU with Mozambique to import 3.75 million quintal of pulses, the report said.

This now has led to a crisis. According to a report, government imports comes at a time when the farmers are sitting on a stock of nearly 6 million quintal with them.

Desi variety of tur is selling at Rs 38-42 per kg in various mandis, way lower than the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 54 per kg.

On the other hand, the cost of importing pulses from Mozambique is around Rs 28-30 per kg, which makes it quite viable, the report said.

“Releasing import quota for import from Mozambique at this time will only hurt farmers’ interest going by the market scenario of the pulses,” Devendra Vora of Navi Mumbai-based Friendship Traders was quoted saying in the report.

The situation, the report said, is made more complicated due to the fact that all this is happening before the sowing of kharif.

“We have written to the government to not open import quota now, but do so when prices have increased, which is expected during festival times. Allowing import during that period will have price stabilizing impact, instead of the price-depressing impact, which is the case now,” Bimal Kothari, Vice president of the Indian Pulses and Grains Association was quoted saying in the report.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow