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Hello Jammu News at 1:06:00 PM 0

Chicago, Sep 8: President Donald Trump on Friday said he wants to stop the subsidies that growing economies like India and China have been receiving as he wants the US, which he considers as a "developing nation", to grow faster than anybody.

Addressing a fundraiser event in the Fargo city of North Dakota, he also accused the World Trade Organization (WTO) of allowing China to become a "great economic power".

"We have some of these countries that are considered growing economies. Some countries that have not matured enough yet, so we are paying them subsidies. Whole thing is crazy. Like India, like China, like others we say, 'oh, they're growing actually'," Trump said.

He said that they call themselves developing nations and "under that category they get subsidies."

"We have to pay them money. This whole thing is crazy, but we're going to stop it. We're going to stop it. We have stopped it.

"We are a developing nation, too, OK? We are. As far as I'm concerned, we are a developing nation. I want to be put down in that category because we are growing, too. We are going to grow faster than anybody," Trump said amidst applause from the audience.

Attacking the WTO, Trump said he thinks that the World Trade Organization was probably the worst of all. "But a lot of people don't know what that is, that allowed China to become this great economic power".

On the trade deficit between the US and China, which has led to a tariff war between the world's top two economies, he said, "I'm a big fan of (Chinese) President Xi Jinping, but I told him, 'we have to be fair'."

"We can't let China take USD 500 billion a year out of the United States and rebuild itself," he added.

The President also said that the US should get paid for securing the wealthy countries from the outside harm.

"I think it's fine, but they got to pay us for this. We're watching the whole world and they take it for granted.

"For years and years we've been protecting these countries. They're making a fortune. They've had very little military cost. We have the biggest military cost in the world. Most of it goes to protecting outside countries, some of whom don't even like us," Trump said.

"We're protecting countries that have -- I got to say, they do have respect for us now, but they didn't have any respect for us, and they got to pay. They got to pay, you know, when they're wealthy," he said. (PTI)

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Hello Jammu News at 2:10:00 PM 0

Washington, Jul 26: In a significant development, the US and the European Union have agreed to iron out trade dispute through negotiations and put on hold the tariff war while they talk through their differences.

The move came after a meeting between US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker here yesterday.

Addressing a joint press conference in the Rose Garden at the White House, the two leaders agreed to begin discussions on eliminating the tariffs and subsidies that hamper trade across the Atlantic.

We met right here at the White House to launch a new phase in the relationship between the US and the European Union -- a phase of close friendship; of strong trade relations in which both of us will win; of working better together for global security and prosperity; and of fighting jointly against terrorism, Trump told reporters.

This is a significant development because the US and the EU together count for more than 50 per cent of the global GDP.

Together, we are more than 50 per cent of trade. If we team up, we can make our planet a better, more secure and more prosperous place, Trump said.

The US president said both the parties have agreed to work together toward zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers and zero subsidies on non-auto industrial goods.

We will also work to reduce barriers and increase trade in services, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical products, as well as soybeans...This will open markets for farmers and workers, increase investment, and lead to greater prosperity in both the US and the EU," he said.

It will also make trade fairer and more reciprocal, Trump added.

The two sides also agreed to strengthen strategic cooperation on energy. "The EU will build more terminals to import liquefied natural gas from the US," Juncker said.

They also agreed to work closely together to reform the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and to address unfair trading practices, including intellectual property theft, forced technology transfer, industrial subsidies, distortions created by state-owned enterprises and overcapacity.

Meanwhile, welcoming the decision, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde said, The global economy can benefit only when countries engage constructively to resolve trade and investment disagreements without resort to exceptional measures.

The US Chambers of Commerce also hailed the move. We welcome an open US-EU dialogue so that leaders can work quickly to reverse the damage caused by tariffs, executive vice president and head of international affairs at the US Chambers of Commerce Myron Brilliant said.

American businesses are ready to get back to the work of creating jobs and driving the economy instead of worrying about the implications of a burgeoning trade war, he added.

The US House Committee on Ways and Means chairman, Kevin Brady, congratulated Trump for reaching the vitally important and timely agreement with Juncker. The committee is the chief tax-writing panel of the US House of Representatives.

This start is an excellent news...By moving the EU to work with us to address China's unfair trade and to reform the WTO, the President and his team have fundamentally changed the trading environment in a way that will benefit all Americans," Brady said. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 1:10:00 PM 0

Washington, Jul 3: US President Donald Trump has warned of "doing something" with regard to the World Trade Organization (WTO), which he said has treated America very badly.

The president was addressing reporters during a joint media appearance with Prime Minister of Netherlands Mark Rutte yesterday.

"WTO has treated the United States very badly, and I hope they change their ways. They have been treating us very badly for many, many years and that's why we were at a big disadvantage with the WTO," he said..

Asked to respond to reports that the US was planning to withdraw from the WTO, Trump said, "We are not planning anything now, but if they don't treat us properly, we will be doing something."

Soon thereafter, the White House denied that the US was leaving the WTO.

"As (Treasury) Secretary (Steven) Mnuchin and the President have said, that is not accurate that the US is leaving the WTO (sic)," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters at her daily news conference.

"But he certainly voiced frustration, and he's been clear that he has concerns that there are a number of aspects that he doesn't believe are fair. China and other countries have used the WTO to their own advantage, and we're focused on fixing the system, and that would include that," Sanders said.

Trump, she said, would like to see the system get fixed, and that's what he's focused on doing.

"The President would like to see just an overall more fair-trading system. We are going to be continuing negotiations with individual countries as well as organisations, she said. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 2:54:00 PM 0



Kolkata, Apr 19: The UK and India has announced a wide range of new initiatives and agreements across technology, trade and investment and as global forces for good. 
Increased joint cooperation in these areas will help both our countries prosper, British High Commission spokesperson Alex Cameron said in statement here on Thursday. 
Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs)/Agreements between the UK Government and Government of India: A framework for the UK-India Cyber Relationship, committing to a free, open, peaceful and secure cyberspace; and cooperation in exchange of information and strategies for effective cyber security incident management and threat response.
An MoU on Cooperation and Exchange of Information for the Purposes of Combating International Criminality and Tackling Serious Organised Crime, to establish a mechanism for the exchange of criminal records, immigration records and intelligence.
An MoU to strengthen institutional cooperation in the field of Sustainable Urban Development, to include business engagement, programme and project design, access to finance, knowledge exchange and research and innovation, to build on existing cooperation on the Smart Cities Mission.
An MoU for cooperation in sustainable management of water resources in the Ganga Basin through collaborative programmes of research, innovation and policy exchange between the National Mission for Clean Ganga, India, and Natural Environmental Research Council, UK.
An MoU on Skill Development, Vocational education and Training to promote collaboration and capacity-building.
An MoU to enhance cooperation on livestock husbandry, fisheries and agro-forestry.
An Addendum to the Newton-Bhabha MoU to extend cooperation to include joint research in humanities and social sciences.
An arrangement between the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board of India and the Office for Nuclear Regulation of Great Britain for information exchange and cooperation on the regulation of safe nuclear energy use for peaceful purposes.
A Statement of Intent to explore technology co-operation in areas such as electric vehicles, AI, FinTech, and advanced manufacturing, as well as utilizing AI, big data and analytics capability for evidence-based policy making, between the National Institute for Transforming India (NITI Aayog), India, and UK Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Non-Governmental MoU: An MoU between the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) and College of Medicine to set up a Centre of Excellence in Ayurveda and traditional Indian medicine.
India-UK Tech initiatives: UK – India Tech Alliance: NASSCOM and TechUK have set up a Tech CEO Alliance which will bring together 10 CEOs from five British and five Indian major tech firms for industry-to-industry dialogue on digital skills, future business growth and collective challenges and opportunities.
Technology Summit II: The UK and India announced the Technology Summit II, which will be held in autumn 2018. The Summit will bring together the greatest UK and Indian tech innovators, scientists, entrepreneurs and policy makers to work together to scope and design solutions to challenges including the governance of future tech.
AI and Digital Healthcare: The UK and India announced that as partners in the next generation of healthcare, they will collaborate on digital health pilots in India’s Aspirational Health Districts by applying UK evidence-based healthcare AI and technology to strengthen healthcare delivery. These pilots will be carried out in the areas of self-care, primary, secondary and tertiary care, including eye care, diabetes and cancer.
UK tech-initiatives in India: UK-India Tech Hub: The UK announced the creation of a UK-India Tech Hub. Based in the British High Commission in New Delhi the Tech Hub will include a network of people and programmes designed to facilitate ideas, investment and prosperity for India and the 
UK. It will focus on the fastest growing sectors, including: cyber security, AI/data, future mobility, digital manufacturing, healthcare, electric vehicles and digital identity.
UK-India Tech Cluster Partnerships: The Tech Cluster partnerships will link world-leading centres of excellence; enable shared innovation and technology exchange; create landing pads for Indian companies in the UK and UK companies in India to drive investment and trade and create high value jobs and build UK and Indian productivity.
Advanced Manufacturing Centre: The UK announced the potential establishment of an Advanced Manufacturing Centre. Such a centre would support respective industrial strategies and in turn drive growth and jobs in both countries. It would also support our regional partnerships that are at the heart of our Technology Partnership.
FinTech Rocketship Awards: The UK announced the launch of the FinTech Rocketship Awards, a unique, first-of-its-kind FinTech mentoring programme, led by India and the UK’s top FinTech mentors. In the first year, at least 20 FinTech entrepreneurs from each country will be given the opportunity to experience respective ecosystems and pitch for investment.
Trade, Investment and Finance: Green Growth Equity Fund (GGEF): The UK and India launched the fund that will leverage City finance to invest in India’s growth, announcing Eversource Capital, a joint venture between Lightsource BP and Everstone Group, as the Green Growth Equity Fund 
Manager. An initial investment of £240m from both governments will catalyse additional City finance for green projects in India and UK companies will be able to bid for infrastructure projects financed by the Fund. The Fund will invest in renewable energy, clean transportation, water and waste management in India as part of India’s flagship National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). UK and India contributions are investments that will generate returns for each country.
UK-India Dialogue on Investment: The UK and India announced a Dialogue on Investment to improve our mutual understanding of priorities and review future opportunities for cooperation.
Sector targeting roadmap: The UK and India have agreed to work together on a sector-based roadmap to address trade barriers in life sciences, food and drink and IT sectors.
UK-India multilateral trade dialogue: The UK and India will take forward a dialogue under the Joint Working Group on Trade, which will support a shared commitment to the global rules-based system and to the WTO’s role in underpinning it.
Fast Track Mechanism: The UK and India announced a mechanism to support Indian investments into the UK.
Commitment to transition EU-India Third Country Agreements: The UK and India announced that this commitment will ensure continued application to the UK of 
EU-India Agreements during the Implementation Period following the UK’s departure from the EU, and put in place arrangements to replicate relevant EU-India agreements beyond this period.
UK-India Fintech Dialogue: The UK and India established a FinTech dialogue to discuss further opportunities for financial services collaboration, including a proposed new regulatory cooperation agreement.
Global Force for Good: International Solar Alliance: The UK signed the Framework Agreement of the International Solar Alliance and became the 62nd signatory member country. The UK also expressed its commitment to the continued advocacy of ISAs aims and objectives.
Research and Development: The UK and India will continue their world-leading research relationship, generating new knowledge and innovations that feed the world’s hungry (high yield crops), protect our environment (clean energy), save lives (advanced healthcare) and drive economic inclusion (digital services). UNI
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Hello Jammu News at 12:26:00 PM 0


New Delhi, Dec 14: As the World Trade Organisation's Conference in Buenos Aires ended in a stalemate with the 164 Member countries not even agreeing on a joint declaration, the civil society groups (CSO) pointed out the procedural shortcomings that were constraining policy space for job creation and development and warned against dangers of the multilateral body becoming a platform for expansion of big business agenda.
No mention was made in the closing remarks of the Chair on pubic stockholding and food security, meaning thereby, that the Peace Clause on this issue will continue for developing and Least developed Countries, sources present at the conference told UNI.
The Director-General of WTO and Chairperson of 11 Ministerial Conference said it was 'disappointing' that members were not flexible and that every ministerial conference cannot deliver results.
Expressing relief that the push by giant technology corporation for an agenda to expand WTO rules over future digital economy failed to garner support, the civil society groups, who were a significant voice at the conference, were disappointed that a permanent solution was not found for public stockholding of food to remove WTO constraints on a country’s ability to feed their hungry populations and improve farmers livelihoods and to discipline trade-distorting subsidies (by developed countries).
The 80 civil society representatives affiliated to the global 'Our World Is Not For Sale' welcomed that Members recognised it was pre-mature for the WTO to begin negotiations on digital economy and simply re-affirmed the existing work programme for discussions on e-commerce. No new rules on domestic regulations were agreed upon. Likewise, most members realised that no new negotiations on investment facilitation were warranted and decided againt a new mandate on the issue.
“Other issues like micro and small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and “gender and trade” are Trojan Horses for sneaking in “new issues” like e-commerce, and represent the wrong agenda of further benefits for corporations at the expense of jobs and development,’’ the civil society groups said.
Separately, the Swadesh Jagran Manch representative attending the Conference told the UNI that they shared the government concern about the manner in which the WTO functions.
He said that during discussions with NGOs it was felt that India must take a lead role in restructuring the pattern of discussion and objectives.
The meeting collapsed after the US representative blocked agreement on permanent solution to public stockholding on which India and other developing countries insisted as it was an agenda set in the Nairobi Ministerial. 
The US and other developed countries were more keen on moving ahead with e-commerce and such issues. 
Apparently the European Union did not play a constructive role in breaking the stalemate, sources said. UNI
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Hello Jammu News at 4:50:00 PM 0


New Delhi, Dec 13: More than 160 women’s rights organisations have called upon WTO member governments to refrain from adopting the proposed “Joint Declaration on Trade and Women’s Economic Empowerment” introduced in the ongoing 11th Ministerial at Buenos Aires as it fails to address the adverse impact of WTO rules on women.
``The proposed declaration (introduced as a` new issue’) appears to be designed to mask the failures of WTO and its role in deepening inequality and exploitation,’’ they said in a letter to the member governments.
Asserting that they were not against multilateralism, they said that it should be based on solidarity, democracy and human rights, rather than in the interests of unaccountable multinational corporations or wealthy states.
Reacting to the proposal, environmentalist Vandana Shiva said, "Women were the first to show how WTO was institutionalised capitalist patriarchy on a world scale. We will not allow "women" to be used as a Trojan horse to expand and extend a system that is destroying the lives and livelihoods of women and children, peasants and workers , and the planet.’’
Global Coordinator of Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development Kate Lappin asserted that women rights organisations from all continents had rejected the proposed declaration as simply a 'pink herring' designed to distract attention from the harm the WTO does. 
``If there was genuine interest in women's human rights, governments would change the rules of international trade that currently drive down women's wages, displace women from their land, privatise public goods to enrich multinational corporations. We are sick of gender equality being used as a cynical ploy to justify neo-liberalism,’’ she said.
Zenaida Soriano of the National Alliance of Peasant Women, Philippines, said that women peasants have been devastated by the free trade policies that open up agricultural markets to foreign investment. ``Trade liberalisation worsens corporate land-grabs that deprive women of their land and livelihood resulting in widespread hunger that destroys communities and deepens women’s misery. ” 
The letter said, “The declaration takes a very narrow approach to assessing the gendered impacts of trade…. It is a ‘pink herring’, an attempt to obscure the harm WTO provisions have on women while ensuring the WTO can bring in ‘new issues’, (that are) likely to deepen inequality.’’
``The removal of tariffs and import limits alone have been detrimental to women’s rights. Tariff reductions reduce government revenue essential for public investments in health, education, energy, water, transport and social protection. Reduced public expenditure impacts most heavily on the economically poor and particularly poorer women. Governments are increasingly replacing that revenue with regressive taxes, such as Goods and Services Taxes which have discriminatory effects,’’ the letter said.
It further said that, ``if governments are genuinely interested in advancing women’s human rights through just trade arrangements, they would allow for pro-poor public stockholding of food, allow any domestic regulations a state deems necessary to advance women’s human rights and the public interest, ensure that states can fully utilise intellectual property flexibilities to provide access to medicines, seeds, technologies that advance women’s human rights. They would refrain from entering into any bi-lateral or multi-lateral agreements that further restrict (a government’s) capacity to use domestic regulations in the interests of the public.’’
Among the signatories to the letter are the Mahila Dakshata Samiti, National Alliance for Women, Public Advocacy Initiative for Rights and Values in India (PAIRVI), Federation of Women Farmers’ Rights, RITES Forum, Society for Rural and Education and Development, Indian Social Action Forum, Tamil Nadu Women’s Forum, Centre for Research and Advocacy etc. from India.
Other signatories are from women groups in the USA, France, Australia, U.K., Fiji, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Philippines, Turkey, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Burundi, Ghana, Pakistan, Bolivia, Rwanda, Nigeria, Senegal, Spain, Argentina, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Nepal, Mexico, Cambodia, Indonesia, Hong Kong Thailand, El Salvador, Congo, Jordan and Myanmar. UNI 
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Hello Jammu News at 5:04:00 PM 0

New Delhi, Nov 10: Urging India to continue its pressure in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to drop subsidies-related Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS) from negotiations, RSS affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) has said India should push for a permanent solution on development subsidies and public stockpiling of food (for the Public Distribution System) in the forthcoming 11th ministerial conference in Buenos Aeries on December 10 and 13.
Participants urged Minister of State SS Ahluwalia, who attended the conference here, to ensure that India counters the efforts by European Union, Brazil to divide the 100-odd developing countries and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) on the issues. Instead of a (temporary) Peace Clause, India should push for a permanent solution and the demand for exemption of these subsidies should be pressed, the participants said, according to SJM National Convener Ashwini Mahajan. Among others who participated in the day-long deliberation were former minister and senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, trade experts and civil society members. Asserting that every country had the right to adopt special measures to curb sudden surge in supply of agriculture produce by increasing import tariffs, the SJM said India should negotiate for the Special Safeguard Mechanism in this regard. “The market is already distorted by developed countries’ subsidies and standard barriers,’’ the participants agreed. On the proposal to bring rules on Fisheries subsidies, the meeting expressed concern about the attempt to allow developed countries to continue with their subsidies while banning subsidies by developing countries for small scale, traditional fishing. The SJM also opposed the proposal for investment facilitation which it said might end up in 'commitments (from India) on investor protection and market access'. It said that India should tread carefully on the issue of freeing e-commerce from regulation as it was a “complex and unknown area’’ which might restrict the government’s ability to regulate giant, multi-national e-commerce companies. “India should not allow the WTO to decide on regulatory rules shaping key policies on health, labour, trade, industry, agriculture and finance. Losing all tariff revenue on e-commerce, as well as regulatory control over imports is unthinkable for a country like India.’’ The SJM also warned the government against succumbing to pressure on e-Commerce being pushed in trade negotiations in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and said that it will impact retailers and custom duty revenues. Giving the example of China, it said the neighbouring country was pushing the interests of a wholesale manufacturer and supplier of Chinese goods which seeks duty-free access using the e-commerce route. UNI
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