Skip to main content

India’s curbs on import of pulses: US, Australia, EU raise concerns at WTO

By
India’s curbs on import of pulses: US, Australia, EU raise concerns at WTO
A commerce ministry official says India defended the restrictions on import of pulses as they are compliant with WTO rules Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) including the US, Canada, Australia, European Union and Japan have raised concern over India’s quantitative restrictions on import of pulses.India capped imports of green gram (moong) and black matpe (urad) at 300,000 tonnes and that of pigeon peas (arhar) at 200,000 tonnes in August in the wake of domestic harvest and concerns over the slump in prices of traditional pulses.
The issue came up in a 20 April meeting of the committee on import licensing at the WTO with countries alleging that quantitative restrictions by India on import of pulses distort global prices and put the future of farmers across many countries in peril. India has been the largest producer, as well as traditionally the largest importer of pulses to ensure steady supply of the protein-rich diet to its citizens.
A commerce ministry official speaking under condition of anonymity said India defended the import restrictions as they are compliant with WTO rules. “However, India promised to notify the quota allocations and procedures for 2018 and 2019 soon for the benefit of other countries,” the official said.India’s agriculture ministry has projected that production of pulses would touch a record 24 million tonnes in 2017-18, up from 23 million tonnes the year before.
While WTO mandates elimination of quantitative restrictions covering all import- and export-related measures, exceptions are allowed under specific circumstances such as to safeguard the balance of payments, to protect an industry at an early stage of development or to prevent sudden increases in imports.
India’s decisions in November to raise import duties on pulses by up to 50% and put stringent fumigation requirements have also irked pulse exporting countries. Canada even raised the matter bilaterally during the visit of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to India in April.Canada used to supply pulses of around $1 billion to India every year. India gave less time to Canada to comply with the new fumigation norms compared to the US and Australia, prompting complaints of discrimination
.“We are extremely concerned over India’s increase in duties by 50% of all imported peas without providing any advance notice. The Prime Minister will undoubtedly be raising it at the first opportunity he gets,” Canadian agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay told the House of Commons in November after India’s decision.
A joint statement issued after the meeting between Trudeau and Modi in February this year promised to finalize “mutually acceptable technological protocols” within 2018 to enable the export of Canadian pulses to India free from pests of quarantine importance.
The Mint, New Delhi, 02nd May 2018

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

RBI deputy governor cautions fintech platform lenders on privacy concerns during loan recovery

By
  India's digital lending infrastructure has made the loan sanctioning system online. Yet, loan recovery still needs a “feet on the street” approach, Swaminathan J, deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India, said at a media event on Tuesday, September 2, according to news agency ANI.According to the ANI report, the deputy governor flagged that fintech operators in the digital lending segment are giving out loans to customers with poor credit profiles and later using aggressive recovery tactics.“While loan sanctioning and disbursement have become increasingly digital, effective collection and recovery still require a 'feet on the street' and empathetic approach. Many fintech platforms operate on a business model that involves extending small-value loans to customers often with poor credit profiles,” Swaminathan J said.   Fintech platforms' business models The central bank deputy governor highlighted that many fintech platforms' business models involve providing sm
Post a Comment
Read more

Credit card spending growth declines on RBI gaze, stress build-up

By
  Credit card spends have further slowed down to 16.6 per cent in the current financial year (FY25), following the Reserve Bank of India’s tightening of unsecured lending norms and rising delinquencies, and increased stress in the portfolio.Typically, during the festival season (September–December), credit card spends peak as several credit card-issuing banks offer discounts and cashbacks on e-commerce and other platforms. This is a reversal of trend in the past three financial years stretching to FY21 due to RBI’s restrictions.In the previous financial year (FY24), credit card spends rose by 27.8 per cent, but were low compared to FY23 which surged by 47.5 per cent. In FY22, the spending increased 54.1 per cent, according to data compiled by Macquarie Research.ICICI Bank recorded 4.4 per cent gross credit losses in its FY24 credit card portfolio as against 3.2 per cent year-on-year. SBI Cards’ credit losses in the segment stood at 7.4 per cent in FY24 and 6.2 per cent in FY23, the rep
Post a Comment
Read more

India can't rely on wealthy to drive growth: Ex-RBI Dy Guv Viral Acharya

By
  India can’t rely on wealthy individuals to drive growth and expect the overall economy to improve, Viral Acharya, former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Monday.Acharya, who is the C V Starr Professor of Economics in the Department of Finance at New York University’s Stern School of Business (NYU-Stern), said after the Covid-19 pandemic, rural consumption and investments have weakened.We can’t be pumping our growth through the rich and expect that the economy as a whole will do better,” he said while speaking at an event organised by Elara Capital here.f there has to be a trickle-down, it should have actually happened by now,” Acharya said, adding that when the rich keep getting wealthier and wealthier, they have a savings problem.   “The bank account keeps getting bigger, hence they look for financial assets to invest in. India is closed, so our money can't go outside India that easily. So, it has to chase the limited financial assets in the country and
Post a Comment
Read more