Tag: imports

India’s trade deficit widens to $13.7 billion in April

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

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Exports grew by 5.17% to $25.91 billion in April compared to the same month last year on account of healthy performance by engineering, chemicals and pharmaceutical segments, according to the commerce ministry data.

Imports too grew by 4.60% to $39.63 billion in the month on yearly basis, leaving a trade deficit of $13.72 billion.

Oil imports during the month under review were valued at $10.41 billion, 41.5% higher than the same month of previous year.

Non-oil imports, however, dipped by 4.3% to $29.21 billion in April 2018.

Engineering, chemicals and pharmaceutical exports recorded a growth of 17.63%, 38.48% and 13.56% respectively during the month.

However petroleum products, carpet, gems and jewellery and iron ore recorded negative growth.

Gold imports too dipped by 33% to $2.58 billion in April.

Exports had dipped by 0.66% to $29.11 billion in March, even as foreign shipments increased by 9.78% for the full 2017-18 fiscal.

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

Relief for solar producers as government reneges on import duty

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

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India has scrapped a duty on solar modules, making it easier to import the products after a sudden change in customs policy last year led to a logjam of shipments at Indian ports.

Several consignments of solar modules, worth more than $150 million in total, were held up for more than three months at ports after Indian customs’ officials in August demanded that some of them be classified as “electric motors and generators”, carrying a 7.5% import duty. Previously they were subject to no duty.

The finance ministry reversed the policy last month, stating in a notice seen by Reuters that most solar modules should revert to their original classification and that no tax should be levied on them.

Indian component makers have struggled to compete with Chinese companies such as Trina Solar and Yingli and have sought anti-dumping duties as well as long-term safeguards.

But the logjam of shipments at ports posed a headache for solar power producers and threatened to delay Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan of nearly tripling the country’s total renewable energy capacity to 175 gigawatt (GW) by 2022.

The plan has spurred foreign investment in the sector, with Japan’s SoftBank and Goldman Sachs among others investing in solar projects in India.

Any duty is bad news for solar power producers such as SoftBank-backed SB Energy but good for local solar component makers such as Indosolar and Moser Baer.

The change in policy last August led to logjams as it was not immediately clear which modules belonged to the new classification. To ease the situation customs officials agreed to release shipments if importers paid a bank guarantee to cover any duty they may be required to pay.

An executive at the Indian unit of Germany’s Enerparc, which had 30 of its containers stuck at the port of Chennai, said there was still some uncertainty about the process even though the duty had been scrapped.

“Looks like it will take a month before we get our money (bank guarantees) back, but we are happy that the issue has been resolved,” Enerparc’s Managing Director Santosh Khatelsal said.

Customs officials were not available for comment outside of regular business hours.

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

China ramps up checks on US pork imports in potentially costly slowdown

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

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China has ramped up inspections of pork shipped from the United States, importers and industry sources said, the latest American product to be hit by a potentially costly slowdown at Chinese ports in the past couple of weeks.

Some trade experts said they believe Beijing is sending a defiant warning to Washington in response to sweeping US trade demands made on China last week.

The stepped-up checks have even hit China’s WH Group Ltd, the world’s largest pork company and owner of Smithfield Foods in the United States, and come amid increasing scrutiny of other US farm goods, including fruit and logs.

Ports are opening and inspecting every cargo that arrives, said Luis Chein, a director at WH Group, China’s top importer of US pork.

That compares with inspections carried out only “randomly” in the past, he told Reuters, significantly lengthening the time product stays at the port.

China’s General Administration of Customs, which oversees food imports, did not respond to a fax seeking comment.

The US Agriculture Department was troubled by the reports and urged China to give US exports full access to its market, said an agency representative.

Increased checks on US products are “not terribly surprising,” said Even Rogers Pay, an agriculture analyst at China Policy, a Beijing-based consultancy.

“In a situation where trade tensions are high, China will enforce every possible regulation on its books. It makes strategic sense to do so at this point,” she said.

Late on Monday, China’s customs agency announced it was stepping up quarantine checks on apples and logs from the United States after detecting pests in imports of the products at Chinese ports.

US President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs on up to $150 billion of Chinese goods, largely because of US allegations that Beijing misappropriates US technology through joint-venture requirements, unfair licensing practices, outright theft and state-backed acquisitions of US technology firms.

Beijing denies those accusations.

China’s top economic official, Liu He, will visit Washington next week to resume trade talks, the White House said on Monday, after a US delegation led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin came away from a visit to Beijing last week with no agreement over a long list of US trade demands.

FROM DAYS TO WEEKS

US pork is now sitting at Chinese ports for up to two weeks, instead of a few days, industry sources told Reuters.

Most of the imported pork is frozen and not at risk of perishing. But the move comes on top of the additional 25 percent duties Beijing slapped on American pork and a slew of other goods last month, in retaliation for US tariffs on steel and aluminium imports.

The United States is one of China’s top overseas pork suppliers, shipping $489 million worth of the meat last year.

A person working at a Shanghai-based meat trading firm said customs officials were also taking samples from about 20 percent of US pork shipments since last month, up from about 5 percent previously.

He declined to be named because of the sensitive nature of the topic.

There had been no change for imports from other destinations the company buys from, including Canada and Europe, he added. Two German pork exporters said they were not aware of any changes to inspections.

Stepped up inspections and sampling were also cited in an April 30 report by the United States Department of Agriculture attache in Beijing, which said the new measures had started on April 23 but gave no further details.

The tariffs have already cut off demand for muscle cuts, or higher value pork meat, and pressured the price of so-called “variety” meat, such as offal and feet, the biggest portion of US pork exports by volume.

In addition, China’s domestic hog prices have plunged in the first quarter, and are still hovering around eight-year lows of about 10 yuan ($1.57) per kg. That has led WH Group to sharply reduce its imports anyway this year, added Chein.

China’s total pork imports declined 10 percent to 595,611 tonnes in the first three months of the year, according to Chinese customs.

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

Indian rubber prices trading low as cheaper imports flood market

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

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Indian rubber prices are trading at the lowest in 17 months on weak demand in the market. The most watched rubber grade, RSS 4, is trading between Rs 117 and 119 per kg for the last two sessions. The rubber prices are down for more than 3% in the past two months.

The Indian rubber prices take cues from the global trends, which have been on the weaker side.

The widely trade Tocom rubber prices have declined 9% in the current year on back of rising inventories in the global market. The strengthening of Japanese Yen against US dollar and the uncertainty arising out of trade tension between China and the US is also affecting the market.

The pressure is building up after three main global rubber producers Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia ended the three month curb on natural rubber exports on March 31 by 350,000 metric tonne.

Increasing import for cheap prices has also affected the domestic rubber.

The Malaysian rubber prices are quoting Rs 92 per kg and even with the 25% import duty that India has levied,  the landed rubber cost Rs 115 per kg still cheaper than the domestic price.

India produced 700,000 tonnes of rubber in 2017-18 against the demand of 1.2 million tonnes, falling short of both the demand and the production target.

The rubber products industry is also facing a difficult situation as the import duty between 0 and 10%, the market is flooded with cheaper imports.

Reports suggest that nearly 40% of the industry is headed for a shutdown with higher costs of ingredients such as carbon black and zinc oxide.

The industry now awaits the the natural rubber policy that has been in making for some months now. It is expected to finalised by June end.

The policy is expected to address allocation of fund for the Rubber Board and also the minimum support price for rubber among other concerns.​

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

China rules US sorghum was dumped, as trade tensions mount

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

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China ordered importers of U.S. sorghum to pay deposits for possible higher tariffs in an anti-dumping investigation, adding to growing trade conflict with Washington.

A preliminary ruling by the Commerce Ministry said U.S. sorghum was being sold at improperly low prices, hurting Chinese farmers. It said importers must post bonds of 178.6% of the value of their goods to cover possible anti-dumping duties while the probe is completed.

Beijing launched the sorghum investigation on Feb. 4 in what some business people saw as a warning shot as President Donald Trump hiked tariffs on Chinese-made washing machines and solar modules.

Since then, Trump has threatened to raise duties on up to $150 billion of Chinese goods in a dispute over technology policy. Beijing has responded with its own list of U.S. goods for possible retaliation.

The measures on sorghum, a grain used in animal feed and for making the fiery traditional Chinese liquor baijiu, target farm areas that voted for Trump in 2016. China is one of the biggest foreign markets for U.S. sorghum growers.

Investigators concluded dumping of U.S. sorghum “substantially damaged” Chinese competitors, the Commerce Ministry said. It said prices of U.S. sorghum fell 13% from 2013 to 2017, while shipments increased 14-fold.

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

RBI says investment activity, capital goods production boosts FY 19 GDP estimates

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

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The gross domestic product (GDP) growth estimates for fiscal year 2018-19 was raised to 6.6%, compared to the earlier estimate of 6.5%, the RBI said in its first bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement for 2018-19.

The gross domestic product (GDP) is a key indicator to measure a nation’s economy.

GDP measures the contribution of various sectors in an economy and provides a monetary value for the amount of goods and services produced over a particular period of time.

Capital goods production registered a 19-month high growth in January 2018, indicating a slowdown in investment demand.

Net exports were dragged down by Goods and Services Tax (GST) related working capital disruptions.

Merchandise import growth also weakened because of gold imports, and due to a weak external demand.

In the agriculture sector, the total food grain production for 2017-18 is expected to be 277.5 million tons, up about 0.9% from the previous year.

The manufacturing sector improved and remained in an expansionary mode for the eighth consecutive month in March, driven by increasing output and new orders.

In the services sector, growth of value added services surged, driven by trade, hotels, transport, communication and a significant uptick in construction activity.

Increased sales of commercial vehicles, tractors and two-wheelers, a strong upturn in production of consumer durables, rise in domestic and international air passenger traffic, also contributed to a significant rise in the GDP, the report said.

On the growth outlook front, RBI said that it expects GDP to strengthen from 6.6% in 2017-18 to 7.4% in 2018-19 due to sustained expansion of capital goods production and an increase in imports.

GDP growth for the first half is expected to be in the range of 7.3-7.4%  and 7.3-7.6% for the second half of the financial year.

Exports are also expected to rise due to higher global demand, and boost fresh investment.

In a poll conducted by CNBC-TV18, 10% of the respondents had expected RBI to cut its FY18 GDP forecast to lower than 6.5%, while 90% expected RBI to keep FY18 forecast unchanged at 6.6%.

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

JSW MD Sajjan Jindal says import tariffs will not hamper exports

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

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Jindal South West Group’s (JSW Group) managing director and chairman, Sajjan Jindal on Friday complimented U.S. President Donald Trump on the imposition of import tariffs on goods on Twitter.

Jindal tweeted saying that it is an importantly strategical step towards safe guarding the steel and other industries in developing and developed nations, further adding that the tariffs on imports will not hamper the exports of a country.

China has a surplus production of about 15%,which they use to disrupt the steel industry world over by dumping cheap quality steel. What @POTUS has done is something our policy makers should replicate. Infact Steel should be excluded from all FTAs @SteelMinIndia @sureshpprabhu

— Sajjan Jindal (@sajjanjindal) March 9, 2018

He also said that the domestic manufacturers should be protected come what may and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government should focus on the bigger picture instead of what the vote bank demands.

On Thursday, Anand Mahindra, chairman of India’s largest tractor maker Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) took to social media  website Twitter to dispel worries about tariff imposition by the U.S. on Indian ggods.

Mahindra, in a series of tweets, said that “India can stand tall in a trade war,” adding that countries with large domestic economies can easily withstand tariff threats.

“MNC’s wanting access to India’s markets will have to manufacture locally, which they will. So no danger of drifting back to a socialist, stagnant economy. I’m no believer in protectionism & enjoy competing globally but I believe India can stand tall in a trade war,” Mahindra said.

He further added that India is a free economy with innovative start-ups, access to global technology and is resource-rich having the ability to meet its commodities demand by importing from outside.

Not sure why Indian markets seem so perturbed by the threat of global tariff wars.Small, export focused countries stand to lose. Countries with large domestic economies can easily withstand tariff threats. The world needs access to the fastest-growing large economy—India.(1/3)

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) March 8, 2018

If India retaliates with tariffs,the effect will be very different from what it was https://t.co/fbItr5dRAL,India’s a free-market economy&can access global technology&capital to fuel its own innovative https://t.co/KTEwTlNBtb’s resource-rich&can import commodities it lacks(2/3)

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) March 8, 2018

The tweets come after a day the U.S. President, Donald Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on the import of aluminum and steel.

However, the U.S. has kept Canada and Mexico out of the said tariff imposition.

Countries like China, Brazil, India, Russia, Korea, Thailand and South Africa will face the brunt of this new metal tariff blow.

Trump is already facing resistance from his own Republican government, where few lawmakers are of the opinion that this trade war may retaliate from countries like China.

In the Asian trading hours on Friday, Chinese commodities were cracking as the Shanghai Rebar extended losses, down 5 percent at 3,666 Yuan/Tonne.

The Dalian iron ore also fell 5 percent, with February Chinese iron ore imports declined 16 percent from a month ago.

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