The crux of the negotiations would be reciprocal market access in services. Both India and the UK have ‘offensive’ interests in services, given their structural similarities
The trade deal will establish China’s dominance of trade With the ASEAN. If the Biden presidency is keen on CPTPP+US, it might be an opportunity for India to join the bloc
The Resilient Supply Chain Initiative is an example of how regional supply chains might be repositioning in line with the emerging geopolitics post-Covid-19
India’s decision to selectively allow export of hydroxychloroquine to countries badly affected by coronavirus as well as its neighbours in South Asia is a welcome step.
Covid-19 is the lesson that the West needed for taking measures to prevent epidemics as seriously and effectively as natural disasters and climate change. The price for the realisation might, however, be too high
Notwithstanding the agreement, tariffs imposed by both sides on each other’s products during the last two years, continue. To that extent, the maximum comfort that can be derived from the deal is the signal that while the d
It is unrealistic to assume the Phase-1 deal would end the US-China trade war, the underlying causes of which are systemic and linked to geopolitical rivalry.
The vision of making India a global manufacturing hub depends on getting access to global and regional production networks. For that, it needs FTAs like RCEP
Decisions to conclude RCEP, and working out a trade deal with the US are examples of India making trade a decisive instrument, for both, economic and foreign policy goals
For India, and several other countries, negotiating trade deals with UK—distinct from EU—might imply greater negotiating flexibility and better prospects of meaningful outcomes.
India needs to import bulk consumer goods, and intermediates because of their insufficient availability, and higher prices. Even after tariffs, these imports remain competitive vis-à-vis domestic products.
Concluding the RCEP is probably not as big a challenge for India, as making it useful is going to be. The toughest part of the deal is yet to be reached.
Trade wars appear to be becoming the norm rather than exceptions, and the new conflict between Japan and South Korea is set to worsen the effects of the US-China trade war
There is very little by way of analytical comparison of tariff structures that would negate the impression of India being a high-tariff economy, at least among the emerging market developing countries
The sensitivity about protection of data is clearly not the main reason behind some developing countries staying away from global digital trade work programmes
Although the WTO has expressed its right to adjudicate security exceptions invoked by members under Article XXI of GATT, it remains to be seen whether WTO members, particularly major powers, accept this point of view.
What is perhaps becoming increasingly clear is that the Supreme Court’s judgment has provided the framework for RBI and the DIPP to push hard on data nationalisation.
Why aren’t the large costs of local data storage capacities deterring American payment system providers from operating in India? The answer is the size of the Indian market.