January 2018 ♦ Vol. 14 ♦ No. 1 ♦ 1

January 2018

Industries Commissionerate,

Government of Gujarat

E-mail :comind@gujarat.gov.in

Vol. 14 ♦♦♦♦♦ No. 1 For Private Circulation

Editor’s Note

“The Five Pillars of Prosperity :Agriculture, Manufacture, Navigation,Information Technology, Commerce”

GoG-AMA Centre for International T rade

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4PAGE: PAGE:

2-3 6-7

Non-Tariff Barriers:Invisible Roadblocks

Before Free Trade Agreementsbecame the vogue, high tariffs werethe principal barriers to internationaltrade. Since WTO came into being,and later bilateral and multilateral FreeTrade Agreements reduced oreliminated tariffs to the extend thatthese were no longer were considereda significant barrier to trade.

However, in such a scenario, to protectdomestic industry from indiscriminateimports as well as increasedawareness of health hazards ofchemicals in products of humanconsumption, countries of all shadesand kind have started building non-tariffbarriers such as continuous tighteningof chemicals in food products inEuropean Union. Taking cue from EU,other countries have also startedraising similar barriers. This recentlyhappened to our grapes exports toIndonesia, China and Russia.

Although, India has a FTA with 11countries Asean Bloc, differentcountries have different rules andregulation to our export ofpharmaceuticals. While, India is thelargest exporter of pharmaceuticals toVietnam, it has insignificant presencein Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailanddue to myriad Non-tariff barriers. This,

Exportingthrough E-commercePlatforms

Profile of Panama Trade News

Editor: Suhayl Abidi

Contents:

• Insight ......................... 2-3

• Country profile ............. 4

• Logistics ..................... 5

• Trade News................. 6-7

• WTO ........................... 8in spite of India have the largestnumber of US FDA certified plantsoutside the United States.

There are two types of barriers. Thefirst, related to health and safetycannot be considered a barrier asthese issues are paramount in theimporting countries. India shouldproactively improve its domesticstandards to international standardswhich is currently not the practice. Ourexporters and enabling infrastructuremust conform to the highest healthand safety standards.

We wake up at the last moment torespond to health and safety issues.It takes up to 2-3 years for farmers toalign with new regulations. In EU, USand Japan, rules and regulations donot change overnight but after yearsof studies and debates. Our ExportPromotion bodies such as Apedamust be alert to forthcoming changesat least 2-3 years before directives areannounced. These bodies shouldcirculate five years regulatory forecastfrom major importing countries, atleast once every year.

For example, EU’s REACH(Registration, Evaluation, Authori-

sation and Restriction of Chemicals)regulation was introduced in June2007. It hit the chemical industries’export of chemicals to EU. Theregulation has now been complied withand companies have worked to meetthe obligations. Today, EU isdiscussing regulation on endocrinedisruptors and our export promotionbodies should actively follow itsprogress.

Other barriers which are ofprotectionist nature as forpharmaceuticals nature quoted abovemust be tackled in a bilateral forum.All countries want increased trade. Ifour pharmaceutical exports toIndonesia is impacted byunreasonable regulations, we can playthe same game with import of palmoil. Recently, when Vietnam stoppedour groundnut imports on NBT issues,our government immediately tookretaliatory measures on Vietnamesepepper and the matter was resolvedthrough mutual negotiations.

Supporting International Trade through education, training and research.

2 ♦ Vol. 14 ♦ No. 1 ♦ January 2018

INSIGHT

2

Contd. on next page

Exporting throughE-commerce Platforms

Americans are thronging toe-commerce platforms, especially forholiday shopping such as Amazon’sUS platform, to look for bargains inbedding, jewellery, kitchenware,leather goods and clothing. Indianmerchants can gear up to takeadvantage of this growing trend to sellin the US.

It is clear that shopping/selling onlineis cheaper than on the stores becauseof obvious cuts in traditional importing,man-power and many more. Furtherto help Indian merchants get a bettervisibility for U.S. users, it has made aspecial page, Amazon.com/Indiamaking it easier for them to shop.There are around 17 million Indianproducts like sarees that are beingsold globally, and items like jewelleryand health products has wider appealand attract customers of Indianheritage as well.

Over 27,000 Indian sellers have signedup on Amazon.com, to sell theirproducts in America and across thecontinent. These include majorcompanies such as Titan watches onthe site, to smaller firms sellinghandicrafts and other curios.

Selling on Amazon is especiallylucrative for small merchants asAmazon provides almost turnkeyaccess to the U.S. market. Amazonhandles everything in the U.S., fromshipping to customer handling, so that

the seller can concentrate on makingthe best quality products and addingmore products to their offerings.

The Indian programme is obviously verylucrative for Amazon.com. A merchantwho chooses the full array of Amazonservices, including advertising andcontracting with the company to storeand deliver the products fromAmazon’s U.S. warehouses, typicallyhands over about a third of their item’ssale price as fees and commissions.

For the Indian merchants, they getbetter prices for their products undertheir brand name as Americansalready buy many products that aremade in India, such as cotton towels.

While Amazon.com has sellers hailingfrom many countries, India and Chinaare the two most important places forAmazon to recruit new merchants,since both nations are sources ofcheap manufactured goods.

As per the feedback from some of themerchants who sold their products onAmazon.com and Amazon.in, find thelater one less appealing. With a per-capita income of $1,600 a year, mostIndians are unwilling to pay anythingclose to the prices that sellers cancommand in the United States.

Then experience of one Mumbai basedsmall merchant shows, how you canscale your export business withoutcreating a large infrastructure.Although this merchant used to sell

on other marketplaces like Etsy, theyswitched almost entirely to Amazontwo years ago because of its vast scaleand suite of services. Last year, thiscompany’s sales on Cyber Mondayspiked to four times the usual level,helping to propel their annual revenueto $1.9 million. On Black Friday thisyear, the sales tripled compared withthe previous day.”Amazon taught ushow to create a brand,” quotes themerchant.

The growth of Amazon’s Indian globalseller program shows howsophisticated there tailer’s strategyhas become. The company operatesIndia’s second-largest-commercesite, Amazon.in, which caters to thecountry’s growing base of onlineconsumers. But Amazon also seesIndia as a source of cheap and high-quality products that can be sold onits American site, especially in crucialcategories like apparel, to help it takemarket share from competitors likeWalmart.

What Amazon is trying to do iscompress the global supply chain andbring sellers and customers closer.Some of the 75 million Indian productson the main Amazon.com site, suchas saris, tend to attract customers ofIndian heritage. But other categories,like jewellery and health products,have wider appeal.

January 2018 ♦ Vol. 14 ♦ No. 1 ♦ 3

INSIGHT

3Contd. from previous page

Amazon has listed many of its Indianproducts on a specialpage,Amazon.com/India, to helpcustomers in the United States findthem. For the holiday selling seasonthat kicked off with Black Friday, thecompany spent months helpingsellers prepare by stockpiling goodsin the United States and programmingspecial “lightning deals” to generateshopper interest. In some cases, thecompany even lent sellers money forinventory.

These third-party sellers are crucialto Amazon’s business as they makemore money on their third-party stuffthan on the stuff they sell themselves.Amazon says that more than half ofthe units sold on its shopping sitescome from such outside sellers.

To attract customers on a crowdedsite like Amazon.com, it helps to haveaniche. For one seller that niche isluxury cotton bed sheets for the odd-size beds in recreational vehicles. Themerchant learned about the specialtysheets from an American companythat sells custom mattresses, andthen studied images of campermattresses. Now his factory in Indore,in central India, sells more than10,000 R.V. bed sets per year in theUnited States, many of them customsewn. According to the seller, saidbuyers have little interest in campersheets until June or July when the

camping season starts. Therefore, forthe holidays, he is focusing on highthread-count sheets for regular beds.This merchant often imitates designssold by big American retailers, buttried to undercut them on price,selling his versions for about $30 aset, slightly below Target’s prices andless than half of Bed Bath & Beyond’sprices for similar items.

At the start of the holiday shoppingseason, the bedsheet seller had over40,000 sheetsets sitting in Amazonwarehouses across the United States,waiting for orders to come in. Theprofit margin was low and he did notintend to offer big discounts over theweekend or on Cyber Monday, unlikemany American retailers. His primarygoal was to bring in enough revenueto keep his 115 workers employed.

Another creative seller in Coimbatoreis selling $13 engraved spoons and$60 folded book art on Amazon.com.The profit margin is about $8 a spoon— enough to allow him to slash priceson Black Friday and Cyber Mondaysales and see what happens.

Every year, during the months ofOctober to January there is ashopping frenzy in North America andEurope, that has no equal anywherein the world!

A staggering $80.2 billion was spentjust on online during the November-December 2016 holiday season in theUSA as per com Score. This is a 17percent year-over-year growth. If youare already exporting to the USA thisis a big opportunity for you to sell yourproducts. Online shopping hasbecome so popular in recent yearsthat with each holiday season theBillion-Dollar Shopping Days arebecoming the new norm.

Last year, through Cyber Monday,13days exceed $1 billion in onlinespending via desktop computers.

Some companies, though notaccredited from Amazon, have startedoffering training programs to Indiansellers how to frame their strategy forselling on Amazon USA. One suchprogram was organised at Mumbai fortwo weeks in November 2017 by SMEMaXX, as a part of Ecommerce SalesAcceleration Program (ESAP - USA).For logistical reasons, participation inthis workshop was restricted to thosealready a part of Amazon GlobalSelling Program and Exporters witha valid IEC code.

This workshop was conducted with anobjective to help Indian exportersEnhance their sales during the USAholiday shopping season.

Of course, Amazon is not the onlyonline marketplace. There isAlibaba and also sites in Japan andKorea where you can seek yourfortune. Many Indian sellers,especially those offering spices hadan excellent season onAlibaba.com. Many Indian sellersare finding it to their advantage tobe selling on Alibaba due to theglobal exposure, with a reach in0ver 190 countries. It is over 2 timesbigger than Amazon and is nowresponsible for nearly 80% of theonline sales in China. You need notworry about language barriers, asAlibaba has sites for around fifteenlanguages including Hebrew,Korean, Arabic and Dutch. You canpick the marketplace of your choicedepending on your budget. Thecompany has Taobao for smallsellers (free service), Alibaba formiddle level businesses and Tmallfor big brands.

Drying bedsheets in Jaipur for sale onAmazon.com

Write to us

Please write to us at ama@amaindia.orgfor feedback, suggestions, comments etc.This will help us in tailoring our offeringto meet your knowledge needs ininternational trade.

4 ♦ Vol. 14 ♦ No. 1 ♦ January 2018

COUNTRY PROFILE

4

Panama is an important re-export hubfor North and South Americancountries. Along with the stra-tegicvision of becoming a global trade hub,over the last decade Panama hasinvested heavily in infrastructure,including the massive Panama Canalexpansion project, and favoured a free-trade economy prioritizing the financeand logistics sectors, and allowing anuncon-trolled inflow of imported goods.

Panama has been one of the fastestgrowing economies in the world,duplicating its income per capitabetween 2004 and 2014. A vibrantnetwork of exportable servicessurrounding the Panama Canal –ports, logistics, trade,communications, and financialservices – has burgeoned. Theseactivities have in turn spurred thedemand for construction. Private non-residential developments – officebuildings, warehouses, telecominfrastructure, shopping malls – havebeen complemented by large publicinfrastructure projects, such as theexpansion of the Canal, the first lineof the Panama City Metro, and the newterminal of Tocumen internationalairport.

Profile of Panama

As an economy, Panama is driven,predictably, by its services sector(80% of GDP), including banking,commerce, and shipping. It enjoyssome diversity, mainly at its ColónFree Trade Zone, a large export andre-export hub on the Atlantic entranceto the Panama Canal dealing in goodsas diverse as electrical appliances andjewellery. Its success is derivedmainly from its location, at the mouthof one of the world’s most famouswaterways. And in 2016, a vast USD5.7 billion expansion of the canal wentinto operation, allowing the larger NewPanamax-type vessels—1.5 timeslarger than the old Panamax size—totraverse the locks. The project, whichspiked public debt to USD 20.2 billionin 2015, was such a significantundertaking that it was first deemednecessary to obtain a public mandatethrough a national referendum backin 2006.

In 2016, Colón Free Trade Zone(CFTZ), Pana-ma’s main export andre-export hub responsible for most ofthe cargo movement through thecountry, was reorganized with Law 8of 2016. The previous governing lawhad been in place since the inceptionof the free zone 68 years ago. Thenew law expands the types of activitiesthat qualify for the CFTZ and allowscompanies operating under a“multinational company headquartersregime” to do business there. It alsobrings new tax benefits, and simplifies

immigration and work-relatedprocedures to make processes moreefficient. The new law is expected toattract yet more domestic andin-ternational business and impactgrowth of the industry sector, as theCFTZ’s state-of-the-art internationalwarehousing and infrastructurereinforces industries connected to thefree zone. Official data for the first twomonths of 2017 already show a 23.3%recovery in the value of cargomovements in the CFTZ in USD terms.

The value proposition of the CFZ is thatof a midway point between the factoryand the final point of consumption.Goods arrive primarily from Asia, thefactory of the world and are shippedfrom multiple origins to the Free Zoneto build a buffer stock of inventory toservice the neighbouring countries ona just needed basis, thereby reducingthe new for higher inventory lessonsunder a longer leadtime scenario.

Multinational corporations haveincreasingly seen the benefits ofbringing products produced around theworld under one roof to service themore than 70 countries that can beaccessed from the zone on a weeklybasis by ocean and daily by air fromthe Hub of the Americas in theTocumen Airport on the Pacific side.

More than 80 of the world’s largestmultinationals have considered the

Contd. on next page

January 2018 ♦ Vol. 14 ♦ No. 1 ♦ 5

LOGISTICS

5g CONCOR to launch a Container

train service between India &Bangladesh after receivingapproval: Container Corporation ofIndia Ltd (CONCOR), a NavratnaPSU under the Railway Ministry, isawaiting green signal fromBangladesh to launch a containertrain service between the twocountries, according to CONCORChairman, V Kalyana Rama.According to the CONCOR officialdirect movement of containerisedcargo by train will slash trade costsand also make the entiretransportation exercise moreorganized.

g India’s containerised foreigntrade surges 10% in Q3 2017:report: India’s containerisedoverseas trade grew by record 10 percent in the third quarter of 2017 andthe trend is likely to continue,Maersk India said in its latest report.The report, which analysed India’scontainerised foreign trade withclose to 200 countries in Q3 2017,revealed that the growth led by risingexports to Mediterranean and NorthAmerican nations, registering asurge by 14 per cent and 8 per cent,respectively. The data also indicatesIndia’s strengthening trade ties withthese regions. Amongst theMediterranean countries, Turkeyemerged as India’s largest exporttrading partner in terms of overallvolumes, due to growing demand fortextiles from the northern states ofIndia, as well as vehicles and metalfrom the western region of thecountry. Exports to Algeria, on theother hand, showed the highest jumpat 28 per cent growth in Q32017compared to 12 per cent in thecorresponding period last year.

g Logistics industry in high spirits:It is a known fact that logistics costsin India are among the highest

among globally competitivecountries. However, India’s logisticsand supply chain sector isundergoing a wave of change as twobig moves by the government—implementing GST and givinginfrastructure status to the sector—has led to companies making biginvestment in this sector.

Once teething troubles of are sortedout, its major aim of one market,seamless flow of goods, helpingbusinesses focus on real costoptimization in their supply chainand eventually lower transactioncost can be realised. Already, trucksare logging in longer distance perday as delays at state borders havebeen eliminated.

The government giving infrastructurestatus to this sector is also aninitiative for which a need was longfelt. Now the companies that buildwarehouses and cold chains will getloans at least a 2% lower interestrate than what’s prevalent. This willdecrease their costs and ultimatelyhave a positive impact on the rentalsthe 3PL companies like us arepaying to them for leasing thatinfrastructure. However, this onlybenefits bigger players as thegovernment has mandated that thisis valid only when it entails aninvestment of Rs. 25 crores or more.Dubai’s DP World that hasannounced a $1 billion investmentin India.

Hiring trends have immenselychanged for logistics companies,said Shashi Kiran Shetty, founderand chairman of Allcargo Logisticswhich is the biggest recruiter ofyoung talent in this still burgeoningfield. Allcargo this year, hired 23fresh graduates, its highest numberever, and more than double thenumber of hires last year. A lot ofthis hiring is in the field of supplychain and data analytics which is acareer that a lot of young

professionals look forward to. Seniorprofessionals are being offeredpackages of close to Rs. 80 lakh,almost 25% more than the averagepay package in a similar position inthis field, last year.

A large number of freelanceprofessionals with knowledge inartificial intelligence and big data arebeing hired on contractual basispurely to act as interfaces betweenthese companies and their newtechnical partners and automationpartners to more efficiently handlelogistics and supply chain.

Warehousing plans and structureshave changed drastically. There isa prominent shift to biggerstructures and a clear emphasis onhigher automation. other prominenttrends are a more prominent shift tothe hub and spoke model,introduction of new technology androbotics, demand for better qualitywarehouses as well as backend/frontend integration of supply chainmanagement.

CFZ an ideal location for storing goodsand performing value-added servicessuch as labelling, pricing, promotionsand assembly of goods customizedat the moment of sale for thedestination location. More than 80 ofthe world’s largest multinationals haveconsidered the CFZ an ideal locationfor storing goods and performing value-added services such as labelling,pricing, promotions and assembly ofgoods customized at the moment ofsale for the destination location. Morethan 80 of the world’s largestmultinationals have considered theCFZ an ideal location for storing goodsand performing value-added servicessuch as labelling, pricing, promotionsand assembly of goods customizedat the moment of sale for thedestination location.

Contd. from previous page

6 ♦ Vol. 14 ♦ No. 1 ♦ January 2018

TRADE NEWS

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g Exports jump 30% inNovember , trade deficit high at$13.8 billion: Exports grew 30.55per cent in November, a month afterit contracted 1.1 per cent, alsodue to the low base effect andrising petroleum prices. In fact,petroleum products, along withengineering goods, gems andjewellery, and chemicals, drovenearly 80 per cent of the rise inmerchandise exports. Theoutbound shipment stood at $26.19billion in November against $20.06billion a year ago. To put things incontext, exports had declined by24.43 per cent in November 2016,the steepest that year.Among the major contributors,export of petroleum products rose47.6 per cent, those of chemicalsby 47.9 per cent and engineering43.7 per cent. Gems and jewelleryexports rose 32.6 per cent despitegold imports declining by almost29 per cent.However, exports of fruits andvegetables, ready-made garmentsof all textiles, jute manufacturingincluding floor covering and carpetdeclined. Exporters said thisshould be analysed to address thepain points, especially as these

sectors are highly employmentintrinsic.

g Services export rises 8% to $14billion in October; import up13%: India’s services exports grewby 8 per cent to USD 14.15 billionin October, the Reserve Bank datashowed. They amounted to USD13.11 billion in October last year.Cumulatively, the services exportsduring the April- October period ofthe 2017-18 fiscal reached USD94.48 billion.

g Fruit and vegetable exports dipon stringent global norms: Indiais steadily losing its presence inthe global fresh fruit and vegetablesmarkets owing to stringent qualitynorms of importing countries. Thedata compiled Apeda shows India’sexports of fresh vegetablesdeclined by 26.3 per cent to 1.44million tonnes during April-Octoberthis year from 1.95 million tonnesin the corresponding period lastyear. India’s shipment of fresh fruitalso declined 17 per cent to321,220 tonnes in the first sevenmonths of the current financial yearcompared to 386,063 tonnes in thesame period last year.

g Commerce ministry mullsrefund for exporters via single

window: The Commerce Ministryis looking at ways in which thecoming Budget can provide furtherrelief to exporters under the Goodsand Services Tax (GST) regime. Itis discussing with the FinanceMinistry the possibility of giving alltax refunds to small exporters viaa single window, as also exemptingexporters from paying IGST(Integrated GST) on inputs, as isdone in many other parts of theworld, including Europe.

g Indian exports to China goes upby over 53 per cent inOctober: India’s exports to Chinaregistered a sharp increase of over53 per cent year-on-year to reachUSD 1.24 billion in October, but thetrade deficit continued to mount,according to data released by thecustoms. The trade deficit forOctober stood at USD 3.86 billion.Despite the strains in the bilateralties, India China trade increased by13.56 per cent year on year toreach USD 6.33 billion in October.

g Apparel export falls 10% inNovember: Apparel export fell inNovember by 10 per cent in dollarterms and nearly 14 per cent inrupee terms, as against November2016.Export of Ready-MadeGarments (RMG) were $1,036million, down almost 10 per centfrom a year before. In rupee terms,export was Rs 6,719 crore, fromRs 7,783 crore in November 2016,down 13.7 per cent. The ApparelExport Promotion Council (AEPC)has attributed the fall to a cut induty drawback rates and in theRebate on State Levies (ROSL)scheme that the industry hadbefore rollout of the Goods andServices Tax (GST); also,sustained rise of the rupee against

Date Day/Time Topic

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Saturday, Jan. 20 9.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Generating an Export Enquiry and Follow-up

Sunday. Jan. 21 9.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. How to Start an Export Business(Part-1) (At Vadodara)

Sunday, Jan. 28 9.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. How to Start an Export Business (Part-2) (At Vadodara)

Saturday. Feb. 3 9.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. Export & Investment Opportunities inAfrican Common Markets

Sunday, Feb. 4 9.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. How to Import (At Vadodara)

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January 2018 ♦ Vol. 14 ♦ No. 1 ♦ 7

TRADE NEWS

7Contd. from PREVIOUS page

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the dollar in recentmonths.”Capacity utilisation in theRMG industry has also beenfalling. If the current trendcontinues, we might not be able toeven match the $17 billion worth ofapparel export India posted lastyear,” Rajani added.

g India’s steel exports rise in2017 as China’s plunge: InMarch 2017, India’s beleagueredsteel industry achieved what hadbeen unthinkable even a fewmonths ago. The country’s ironand steel exports during the monthwere more than double theirimports. The enormity of thisdevelopment can be gauged fromthe fact that exactly a year earlier,in March 2016, India’s iron andsteel imports were about threetimes their exports and localsteelmakers were pleading with thegovernment for protection. Whatthe slowing of Chinese exportsalso did for Indian steel makerswas open up overseas markets thatwere until now the fiefdom of theChinese.

g India’s plastics exports poisedto cross $8-bn mark in FY18:The Plastics Export PromotionCouncil (PLEXCONCIL) isconfident that India’s plasticsexports will cross $8 billion markdue to the positive growthtrend.”The current trend in India’splastic exports seems highlyencouraging and we are confidentof crossing plastics exports tocross $8 billion mark in FY18showing a 6 per cent increase from$7.56 billion in FY17. India’splastic exports to United States,the largest destination, continuesto tread higher and nearing thecoveted $1 billion mark,”

PLEXCONCIL chairman PradipThakkar told reporters here.

g Foreign T rade Policy Review:Modi government givesexporters Rs 8,450 cr package:The government has announcedadditional incentives worth Rs8,450 crore a year to boost bothmerchandise and services exportsas part of its mid-term review of theForeign Trade Policy (FTP) for2015-20, with specific focus onMicro, Small and MediumEnterprises (MSMEs) and labour-intensive sectors to boost jobcreation. The benefits, whichrepresent a 34% annual rise fromearlier, came in the form of anenhancement of the duty creditscrips under two flagship exportschemes — Merchandise Exportsfrom India Scheme (MEIS) andServices Exports from IndiaScheme (SEIS) — by 2 percentage points.

g Diamond exporters eye gainsfrom us tax reforms: India’sdiamond traders are eyeing anincrease in business from the taxreforms in the United States thatthey believe will lead toan

increase in the disposable incomeof Americans and consequentlyhigher spending on lifestyleproducts including diamondjewellery.

GUJARAT TRADE NEWSg AEPC opens its office at GCCI

to boost apparel exports fromGujarat: The Apparel ExportsPromotion Council (AEPC)opened its office in Ahmedabadat Gujarat Chamber of Commerceand Industries (GCCI) premisesin December 2017. The 12thoffice of AEPC will help promoteapparel exports from the stateand thus give a boost toGujarat’s garment manufacturingindustry. This will help completethe textile value chain of farm tofashion, in Gujarat. Chairman ofAEPC, Ashok Rajani said that inthe past three months, apparelexports had declined by 12% dueto GST and several otherreasons. Currently, apparelexports from India are worth $17billion and if the governmenttakes necessary measures, thisis likely to grow by 20%.

8 ♦ Vol. 14 ♦ No. 1 ♦ January 2018

WTO

8g India Opposes Call for Advance

Notice to WTO on Food ExportRestrictions: India has opposed aproposal that requires countries tonotify well in advance anyrestriction they may impose onexports of food products, saying themove is not practical andundermines the very intent ofimposing export restrictions. Indiahas at times banned exports of fooditems to keep prices in check whenthere is shortage in the domesticmarket. The proposal by Singaporehas been made just ahead of thecrucial WTO ministerial meetingfrom December 10-13 in BuenosAires. “We can’t notify of anyexport restriction in advance,” aperson privy to the developmentsaid. “Advance notificationundermines the very purpose ofsuch an instrument especially attimes of a goods crisis.”

g WTO meeting ends in stalemateafter US rebukes, membervetoes: The World TradeOrganization’s biennial meetingended in stalemate on Wednesdayafter U.S. criticism and membercountry vetoes, raising questionsabout the body’s ability to governincreasingly disputed global trade.The meeting laid bare thedeficiencies of the WTO negotiatingsystem, which requires unanimityamong all the 164 membercountries.

g At WTO, India manages to protectinterests in food security ,fisheries, e-commerce: India hasmanaged to score a diplomatic winat the 11th Ministerial Conference(MC 11) of the World TradeOrganisation in Buenos Aires byensuring there is no dilution in thepeace clause extending protectionto all Minimum Support Price (MSP)

programmes for food grains, nocommitments to curb fisheriessubsidies and no fast-tracking of e-commerce talks.

g ASEAN free trade pact: Housepanel calls for better access toIndian goods: The Department ofCommerce should furnish a note onthe assessment of the working ofIndia-ASEAN trade in goodsagreement and seek better marketaccess for goods in order to havemore balanced trade, aParliamentary Standing Committeeon Commerce on ‘Trade withASEAN countries’ hasrecommended. The report,presented to the Rajya Sabha onMonday, by the ParliamentaryCommittee headed by NareshGujral, points out that a number ofitems including farm products,textiles, leather and steel have beenadversely affected due to theprovisions of the agreement. Thereport pointed out that better marketaccess in terms of higher export hasnot materialised for India and thiswas a matter of concern.

g Why India hardened its stanceon fishery subsidy at WTO: Indiahas toughened its stance at theWorld Trade Organization (WTO) onthe issue of fishery subsidies,mindful of the politically-sensitive

subject on which the lives of millionsof poor fishermen in various coastalstates depend. The country nowwants subsidies to be allowed forfishing up to the ExclusiveEconomic Zones (EEZ), generallyextending up to 200 nautical milesfrom a country’s coastline, and notjust up to the territorial waters (upto 12 nautical miles from thebaselines), sources told FE. This willhave a bearing on the ongoingnegotiations on discipline on fisherysubsidies at the WTO, on which awork programme was proposed atthe recently-concluded

g House panel wants governmentto take up barriers to movementof professionals issue withAsean: A parliamentary standingcommittee on commerce has askedthe government to revoke a reviewclause in the India-ASEAN free tradeagreement to define ‘independentprofessionals’ for greater movementof natural persons in the ASEANregion.” The committee finds thatprofessional qualification, trainingand other requirements includingprofessional standards have beenused as a barrier for movement ofaccounting services from India,though, the Indian requirements inthis regard meet the internationalstandards.”

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