UK seeks higher protection for its GI products from agri sector under FTA with India

In the ongoing negotiations for a free trade agreement between the UK and India, the demand for heightened protection of Geographical Indication (GI) products from Britain’s agriculture sector remains an unresolved point. GIs like Scotch whisky and Stilton cheese signify distinctiveness linked to their specific origins, prompting discussions to address differences in protection levels.

India, a leading rice exporter, is set to prolong restrictions on overseas sales, maintaining the staple grain at its highest price levels since 2008. Despite being a top global shipper, Modi aims to curb domestic price surges, impacting nations like Benin and Senegal while facing impending reelection. Analysts predict these measures to persist post-elections if […]

“I am looking forward to leading the UK’s largest ever delegation to the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata… I hope the summit will help British businesses to expand here and that companies from Bengal can enhance their footprint in the UK,” Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India, said.

The extant policy does not allow FDI foreign direct investment in the inventory-based model of e-commerce. It is allowed in firms operating through a marketplace model only. Director General of Foreign Trade Sarangi said that the e-commerce stakeholders have asked the department for the promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) to relook the FDI […]

“With respect to the Global South, the first need is to identify global value chains, where each of the countries could focus on not only increasing their participation but also improving the quality of their participation by moving up the value chain,” Goyal said at the second Voice of Global South Summit. He said this […]

Soyabean meal export rose to 87,060 tonnes last month from 40,196 tonnes in the year-ago period, while shipment of rapeseed meal increased to 1,69,422 tonnes from 98,571 tonnes during the period under review. “Foreign demand for Indian soyabean meal has benefited from improved price competitiveness and the shortage of Argentine export supplies in recent months,” […]

In July 2022, the RBI had asked banks to put in place additional arrangements for export and import transactions in Indian rupees in view of increasing interest of the global trading community in the domestic currency.

The gap between exports and imports widened to $31.46 billion on the back of a jump in gold imports, official data released Wednesday showed. It was at $19.37 billion in September and $26.3 billion in October last year. Gold imports rose 95% to $7.23 billion last month.

IPEF has 14 members, including India, Australia, the US, Japan, Fiji, South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore and Thailand, representing 40% of the global gross domestic product and 28% of the global trade in goods and services.

If the rupee depreciates about 10% and the import content in the product being exported is 20%, the net gain to exports would be 8%, said industry experts. “One can also get the benefit while negotiating contracts. If an exporter hasn’t hedged, then they would get windfall gains during the period of depreciation, but most […]