Latest news with #2025NationalTradeEstimateReport
Mint
3 days ago
- Business
- Mint
India draws the red line on GM foods, dairy ahead of August trade talks with US
New Delhi: As trade negotiations between India and the US entering a critical stretch, New Delhi remains firm that genetically modified (GM) food crops such as maize and soybean, and dairy imports, should not be part of the deal. A senior government official said India's position on GM crops and dairy remains 'non-negotiable". These two sectors have emerged as key points of contention ahead of the next round of face-to-face discussions between India and the US for a bilateral trade agreement. The discussions are scheduled to take place in New Delhi in the second week of August. 'The government has consistently maintained that GM food crops and dairy imports are not aligned with India's domestic priorities—be it on health, environment, or livelihood grounds," the official said, requesting anonymity. 'We are ready to explore other areas of convergence, but we cannot compromise on these issues." The US has been pushing for greater market access for GM maize and soy-based products. Besides, the US's dairy industry has been lobbying for access to India's vast consumer market. However, Indian policymakers have consistently resisted such proposals, citing concerns related to biosafety, political sensitivities, and potential disruption to millions of small-scale dairy farmers. 'Any import of dairy products from subsidized markets like the US could severely hurt India's rural economy and traditional milk cooperatives," this official added. India has instead proposed mutually beneficial options, such as promoting value-added sectors, simplifying regulatory procedures, and offering tariff concessions in non-sensitive areas. New Delhi is also seeking better access for Indian pharmaceuticals, textiles, and services to the US market. A crucial stretch India and the US pushed back their deadline to finalize abilateral trade agreement from the earlier 9 July cutoff to later in the month as US President Donald Trump, while announcing rates for some countries, decided to enforce his reciprocal tariffs from 1 August. The trade deal is crucial for India as negotiators seek the elimination of the reciprocal tariffs and additional duties such as those on steel, aluminium, and auto components. India recently withdrew quality control orders for three key industrial chemicals—acetic acid, methanol, and aniline—to ease compliance burdens on domestic manufacturers. India imports substantial quantities of acetic acid and aniline from the US and China. The decision to withdraw the quality control orders is being viewed as New Delhi's gesture to address US concerns, especially after the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), in its 2025 National Trade Estimate Report released in March, flagged several trade barriers in India, including high tariffs, digital restrictions, and regulatory hurdles. The USTR report specifically raised concerns over India's quality control orders, including one on polyethylene introduced in January 2024. The report said such measures did not align with international standards and disrupted trade in plastics and chemicals. India, however, maintains such policies are essential to prevent the entry of substandard imports. The US remains one of the few countries with which India maintains a strong merchandise trade surplus. In 2024-25, Indian exports to the US rose 11.6% to $86.51 billion, while imports grew 7.4% to $45.33 billion, pushing the surplus to $41.18 billion. India opens up autos, services, liquor to UK; gains access in goods
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Opinion - Intellectual property must be a North Star in Trump's trade deals
The last article of the U.S.-United Kingdom trade deal raises the important issue of intellectual property. It's admittedly a placeholder. The obligations will have to be worked out later. But if there's serious intent behind it, this aspiration should inform the template for Trump's upcoming bilateral negotiations. In Trump's America First Trade Policy memo from February, he called for a study to identify 'any unfair trade practices by other countries and recommend appropriate actions to remedy such practices.' He has two that do this: the 2025 National Trade Estimate Report and the 2025 Special 301 Report. The latter document, which lost its voice during the Biden administration, is back. It's once again touting the fact that intellectual property directly or indirectly accounts for 63 million high-paying jobs and 41 percent of U.S. GDP. And it 'names and shames' countries that don't sufficiently protect and enforce American intellectual property. China and India were named and shamed. They have been 'priority watch list' countries for years and represent markets with the most significant intellectual property issues. Trump is negotiating with both countries. Start with China. The Special 301 Report spends 10 pages detailing concerns. For example, China is the world's largest source of counterfeit goods and has rampant online piracy. Other challenges are much more nuanced. For example, Beijing's party-controlled Chinese courts have issued anti-suit injunctions to curtail foreign litigation over standard essential patents. This gives China undue influence in setting 'fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory' royalty rates on 5G and countless other technologies. Not just in China, mind you, but in other countries. The U.S.-China Joint Statement signed on May 12 says that the countries 'will establish a mechanism to continue discussions about economic and trade relations.' Trump should hold China accountable for upholding the Phase 1 deal he signed with Beijing, and push for more. The deal covers intellectual property commitments, many of which China has not implemented, particularly with respect to patent enforcement, patent term extensions and patentability standards. Trump should also seek commitments that build on the Phase 1 deal such as regulatory data protection, which would make it more difficult for China to backslide. Then there's India. The U.S. and India are negotiating a multi-phase bilateral trade deal. To fulfill President Trump and Prime Minister Modi's vision of more than doubling total bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030, intellectual property issues must be comprehensively addressed early and upfront. Yet, as the Special 301 Report concluded, 'India remains one of the world's most challenging major economies with respect to the protection and enforcement of IP.' India needs to commit to intellectual property protections comparable to those that Indian innovators enjoy in the U.S. Early commitments would signal India's seriousness about the negotiations and its intent to be a reliable partner. Finally, consider the European Union. Like the U.K., it has a high-standard intellectual property regime. Unlike China and India, it isn't written up in the Special 301 Report. But the National Trade Estimate Report records that U.S. exporters have many concerns. Some ring familiar, like copyright protections under the Digital Single Market Strategy. Others are more nuanced, such as the evaluation of risk under the EU's new AI Act, which might violate intellectual property protections on source code and trade secrets, for example. Then there are the legislative proposals that would exploit biopharmaceutical-related intellectual property and other incentives to achieve localization objectives and expand the use of compulsory licenses. Online piracy, domestic content and language requirements are also evident across various EU members. More generally, Brussels's preferences on digital trade don't line up with those of the U.S., as originally penned by Trump in his first term. There's a ready-made forum in which to negotiate these gaps: the U.S.-E.U. Trade and Technology Council. The council is meant to spur transatlantic cooperation and competitiveness, but it has faltered in recent years. An upgraded mandate to address intellectual property, along with its emphasis on digital technologies, would help in this regard. If Trump's trade deals are to be successful, they must prioritize the protection and enforcement of intellectual property. As the Department of Commerce observed, 'the entire U.S. economy relies on some form of IP because virtually every industry either produces or uses it.' Marc L. Busch is the Karl F. Landegger Professor of International Business Diplomacy at the Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
30-05-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Intellectual property must be a North Star in Trump's trade deals
The last article of the U.S.-United Kingdom trade deal raises the important issue of intellectual property. It's admittedly a placeholder. The obligations will have to be worked out later. But if there's serious intent behind it, this aspiration should inform the template for Trump's upcoming bilateral negotiations. In Trump's America First Trade Policy memo from February, he called for a study to identify 'any unfair trade practices by other countries and recommend appropriate actions to remedy such practices.' He has two that do this: the 2025 National Trade Estimate Report and the 2025 Special 301 Report. The latter document, which lost its voice during the Biden administration, is back. It's once again touting the fact that intellectual property directly or indirectly accounts for 63 million high-paying jobs and 41 percent of U.S. GDP. And it 'names and shames' countries that don't sufficiently protect and enforce American intellectual property. China and India were named and shamed. They have been 'priority watch list' countries for years and represent markets with the most significant intellectual property issues. Trump is negotiating with both countries. Start with China. The Special 301 Report spends 10 pages detailing concerns. For example, China is the world's largest source of counterfeit goods and has rampant online piracy. Other challenges are much more nuanced. For example, Beijing's party-controlled Chinese courts have issued anti-suit injunctions to curtail foreign litigation over standard essential patents. This gives China undue influence in setting 'fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory' royalty rates on 5G and countless other technologies. Not just in China, mind you, but in other countries. The U.S.-China Joint Statement signed on May 12 says that the countries 'will establish a mechanism to continue discussions about economic and trade relations.' Trump should hold China accountable for upholding the Phase 1 deal he signed with Beijing, and push for more. The deal covers intellectual property commitments, many of which China has not implemented, particularly with respect to patent enforcement, patent term extensions and patentability standards. Trump should also seek commitments that build on the Phase 1 deal such as regulatory data protection, which would make it more difficult for China to backslide. Then there's India. The U.S. and India are negotiating a multi-phase bilateral trade deal. To fulfill President Trump and Prime Minister Modi's vision of more than doubling total bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030, intellectual property issues must be comprehensively addressed early and upfront. Yet, as the Special 301 Report concluded, 'India remains one of the world's most challenging major economies with respect to the protection and enforcement of IP.' India needs to commit to intellectual property protections comparable to those that Indian innovators enjoy in the U.S. Early commitments would signal India's seriousness about the negotiations and its intent to be a reliable partner. Finally, consider the European Union. Like the U.K., it has a high-standard intellectual property regime. Unlike China and India, it isn't written up in the Special 301 Report. But the National Trade Estimate Report records that U.S. exporters have many concerns. Some ring familiar, like copyright protections under the Digital Single Market Strategy. Others are more nuanced, such as the evaluation of risk under the EU's new AI Act, which might violate intellectual property protections on source code and trade secrets, for example. Then there are the legislative proposals that would exploit biopharmaceutical-related intellectual property and other incentives to achieve localization objectives and expand the use of compulsory licenses. Online piracy, domestic content and language requirements are also evident across various EU members. More generally, Brussels's preferences on digital trade don't line up with those of the U.S., as originally penned by Trump in his first term. There's a ready-made forum in which to negotiate these gaps: the U.S.-E.U. Trade and Technology Council. The council is meant to spur transatlantic cooperation and competitiveness, but it has faltered in recent years. An upgraded mandate to address intellectual property, along with its emphasis on digital technologies, would help in this regard. If Trump's trade deals are to be successful, they must prioritize the protection and enforcement of intellectual property. As the Department of Commerce observed, 'the entire U.S. economy relies on some form of IP because virtually every industry either produces or uses it.' Marc L. Busch is the Karl F. Landegger Professor of International Business Diplomacy at the Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University.
Malaysian Reserve
05-05-2025
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
PM Anwar: Malaysia does not impose 47% tariff on US imports, only 5.6% on average
KUALA LUMPUR — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has refuted the United States's (US) claim that Malaysia has imposed a 47 per cent tariff on US imports into Malaysia. He said the calculation was based on the simple ratio of the US trade deficit with Malaysia to its total imports from Malaysia in 2024. Anwar said this claim was used as the basis by the US to impose a retaliatory tariff of 24 per cent on Malaysia, which is a 50 per cent reduction on the 47 per cent tariff that Malaysia is said to have imposed on imports from that country. 'We believe this calculation does not reflect the actual tariff level and is not based on sound economic theory. The fact is that, on average, tariffs imposed on US imports into Malaysia are only 5.6 per cent. 'This was acknowledged by the Office of the United States Trade Representative in the report '2025 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers of the President of the United States on the Trade Agreements Program' published on March 31, 2025,' the prime minister said during the Special Parliamentary Meeting on the US tariffs today. Anwar said that the government takes the US's imposition of retaliatory tariffs seriously. 'Therefore, taking into account the importance of the US as Malaysia's largest export destination and source of foreign investment, the government believes that any challenges to trade relations must be addressed pragmatically and based on national interests, while maintaining good relations with all of Malaysia's trading partners,' he said. — BERNAMA
The Star
05-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Anwar: Malaysia does not impose 47% tariff on US imports, only 5.6% on average
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has refuted the United States's (US) claim that Malaysia has imposed a 47 per cent tariff on US imports into Malaysia. He said the calculation was based on the simple ratio of the US trade deficit with Malaysia to its total imports from Malaysia in 2024. Anwar said this claim was used as the basis by the US to impose a retaliatory tariff of 24 per cent on Malaysia, which is a 50 per cent reduction on the 47 per cent tariff that Malaysia is said to have imposed on imports from that country. "We believe this calculation does not reflect the actual tariff level and is not based on sound economic theory. The fact is that, on average, tariffs imposed on US imports into Malaysia are only 5.6 per cent. "This was acknowledged by the Office of the United States Trade Representative in the report '2025 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers of the President of the United States on the Trade Agreements Program' published on March 31, 2025,' the prime minister said during the Special Parliamentary Meeting on the US tariffs today. Anwar said that the government takes the US's imposition of retaliatory tariffs seriously. "Therefore, taking into account the importance of the US as Malaysia's largest export destination and source of foreign investment, the government believes that any challenges to trade relations must be addressed pragmatically and based on national interests, while maintaining good relations with all of Malaysia's trading partners,' he said. - Bernama
