Trade

In 2014, observers of global trade were riding a euphoric wave. There was talk of mega-treaties and how those would change the world. There were the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP). The age of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is as good as over, and trade would now be dominated by the mega deals. Or, so we were led to believe and taken down the garden path. But five years...

The negotiations between Vietnam and the European Union (EU) over a free trade agreement (FTA) was keen watched by many other countries and blocs, particularly India. When the talks eventually led to a deal being signed on the last day of June, it came somewhat as a double whammy for India—mostly from our textiles-apparel point of view. First, Vietnam’s textiles-apparel industry has decidedly gained an advantage over India as far as exports to most European countries are concerned. And second...

In mid-November came the heartening news that textiles and apparel exports had jumped—by as much as an impressive 38 per cent in October because of higher overseas demand. According to the ministry of commerce and industry, textiles and apparel exports had reached Rs 203.53 billion for October 2018 as against Rs 147.79 billion in the corresponding month last year. Textiles exports increased by 28 per cent, and that of apparel rose by 54 per cent that month. Sounded like good news. The reasons...

The ongoing hostilities between the United States (US) and China can upset existing equations and force new alignments in the global textiles and apparel industry. Assuming, of course, both countries stick to their guns till the end of May when the new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Chinese imports set in, and the counter-tariffs of China come into play. Till then, the global textiles and apparel industry would have little to do but wait and watch the game of who-blinks-first...

It's a big industry by any measure—one that not only generates huge revenues for the country's economy, but also offers equally immense employment potential. The British fashion industry had revenues of £28 billion in 2015, and employed about 880,000 people—right from manufacturing to retail. It's one of the sectors that is going to more than feel the pinch with the June 23 referendum calling for the exit of the United Kingdom from the 28-country European Union (EU). On a scale of severity, the...

The problem with simplistic arguments is that they invariably either remain speculative at best, or fail to make a point altogether. A classic example of this was the speculation that was fuelled last summer in the backdrop of the Chinese currency being devalued and stocks tumbling the world over. Considerable debates and discussions at that time featured in the Indian media, almost all of them drawing the conclusion that India would make the best of China's declining state of affairs, and forge...

Shipments in most of the textile machinery segments experienced worldwide declines in the last year. The deliveries of new short-staple spindles dropped 15 per cent from 2013 to 2014. Shipped long-staple spindles and open-end rotors increased by 70 per cent and 2.6 per cent respectively, and the number of shipped draw-texturing spindles grew by around 12 per cent. Shipments of both shuttle-less looms and new large circular knitting machines also fell by 14 per cent and 22 per cent year-on-year...

What essentially began as a game of one-upmanship between two nations, has now spread so far and wide that every sector in any country which is even slightly reflective of the global economy is feeling either the pangs of it or reaping in the associated benefits. We are talking crude oil here, and the game in question is the one that is still ongoing between Saudi Arabia and the United States. As this edition goes to the press, many speculators across the world feel oil prices would fall to $45...

Economic growth and development are not just about new products or product mixes and trading partners. What matters is not only about how much you export, but what you export as well. This has formed the backbone of the argument that the textiles and apparel sector can indeed lead from the front in order to ensure that the Make in India campaign of the Indian government succeeds. If there is anything after information technology (IT) that can propel India into global limelight, it is the...