Oil imports: India-Iran work out rupee trade mechanism (23 feb)
MANGALORE: Indian and Iranian governments have worked out Rupee trade mechanism for payment of India's total crude imports from the latter in Rupees rather than convertible currency - the US Dollar normally used for such trade globally. The new mechanism is expected to be operational in two months. This arrangement comes in wake of American and European antinuclear sanctions that are increasingly disrupting Iran's economy. Anup K Pujari, Director General of Foreign Trade interacting with reporters on the sidelines of Karnataka: Export Vision 2020, exporters' convention organised by Federation of Indian Export Organisations (Southern region) here on Monday that a decision to denominate our trade in rupee terms was taken at a bilateral meeting of two countries as trade cannot be done using international currency. "It is not barter, but it is almost like barter," he said. Explaining the mechanism worked out, Anup Pujari said whatever oil India imports from Iran and for that oil whatever money India is supposed to pay, part of that amount will be retained in a bank in India. Thereafter, any Indian who exports to Iran need not have to bother about some US bank. Once (export) documents are negotiated, the designated Indian Bank, where the money will be kept, will pay the exporter the equivalent amount in Indian currency. To pare down India's import bill, Anup said, India will mount a big delegation to Iran during the end of this month. Incidentally, the New York Times in its edition dated February 9 has referred to Union commerce secretary Rahul Khullar statement on this. "It is our endeavour to increase exports to Iran. Out of the total amount of oil that we get from them, only 20-25% will be enough for all our exports," he said underlying the need to further boost exports. Noting that Iranian government for a long time was not allowing import of items from India, Anup said the foreign delegation that India mounts will have the opportunity to sell rice, cashew, carpets and whole range of items that do not fall under the purview of the sanctions. "Since we have to anyway import oil from Iran," Anup said, exports to that nation will ensure that 25% of that bill (kept in Indian bank) will anyhow be negotiated. For 2010-11, India's total trade with Iran was equal to $13.67 billion, which included imports worth $10.92 billion and exports worth $2.74 billion. The balance of trade is in favour of Iran and the total growth witnessed during the year was around 2.07 per cent, according to the India's ministry of commerce and industry data. India's exports to Iran include petroleum products, rice, machinery and instruments, manufactures of metals, and other items.
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Sino-Indian strategic ties to be determined by future 'bilateral trade' (24 feb)
The beneficial impact of international trade on economic growth is widely accepted. But whether trade can improve political relations among nations is debatable. A new book by Pakistani writer Ahmed Rashid, Pakistan on the Brink: The Future of America, Pakistan and Afghanistan, has reopened this debate by positing that China no longer treats India as its enemy owing to the $74 billion worth of bilateral trade between the two. Rashid ridicules delusions in Pakistan that China will continue to offer unconditional support to it against India. Beijing was an 'all-weather ally' of Islamabad in the past owing to geopolitical compulsions of checking New Delhi in south Asia, but Rashid's argument is that this calculus has been irreversibly altered by freer trade between China and India in the last decade. Contrast this with the $9-billion SinoPakistani trade, which has not transcended the defence sector. Sino-Pakistani trade's lack of a private sector dimension means there are no strong constituencies in either country that root for closer integration and foreign policy consonance. Outside state elite circles, reminds Rashid, China is an unfamiliar abstraction for Pakistanis, who have little contact with Chinese counterparts. Burgeoning Sino-Indian trade with private sector involvement, on the other hand, leads to frequent travel, collegiality and even commonality of interests between exporting and importing firms on both sides. That trade generates interdependence and peace between states is axiomatic. Cordell Hull, the US Secretary of State during World War-II and a champion of commercial liberalism, said famously that "if goods do not cross borders, then armies will". His intellectual inspiration, the 19th-century British free trade campaigner Richard Cobden, also believed that peace and mitigation of arms races between great powers could be achieved through reduction of tariff barriers. One of the big puzzles of our times is how China and India are simultaneously growing at a fast clip, competing for global influence and power, and yet avoiding the prophesied wars that have recurred throughout European history among rising rival contenders. Is it trade, however lopsided in China's favour, which is keeping Beijing and New Delhi on a non-confrontational track? Are business interests trumping military and strategic unease? Critics point out, however, that trade flourished pre-World War-I among Europeanpowers. The fact that tariffshad been dramatically reduced across Europe since the 1860s through a series of bilateral free trade treaties did not save the continent from a destructive naval counterbalancing race, culminating in a terrible world war. How did liberal interdependence fail to produce the positive externalities of security and peace in this case? Citing this instance, anti-liberal writers warn against blind faith in the political miracles that trade allegedly delivers. However, Dale Copeland, a professor at the University of Virginia, has explained the pre-World War-I breakdown of cooperation and understanding among European powers as actually a vindication of liberal interdependence. The key for animus-free foreign relations, according to him, is not the past or present value of bilateral trade but the 'expectations for future trade'. Germany did have thick past and present trade relations with its European neighbours, but by the mid-1890s, it had become wary about trade
protectionism from Britain, France and Russia. The idea of a 'central European economic area' seemed doomed by the early 1900s, as other European powers began to work in tandem to check the German industrial and exporting colossus. If Copeland got it right, the direction of Sino-Indian strategic ties will be determined by whether or not both parties believe that future bilateral trade is on a rosy path. Foreign minister S M Krishna recently exuded confidence that the two countries were on course to achieve a trade volume of $100 billion by 2015. Chinese diplomats project this figure to cross $120 billion even earlier. The 'future expectations' of trade are, hence, quite optimistic, even though New Delhi is dissatisfied with the massive trade deficit it is running with Beijing at the moment. So, has Pakistan's legendary 'special relationship' with China aimed at weakening India been buried by the avalanche of Sino-Indian trade and does this mean perpetual peace across the McMahon line? Such a conclusion is premature due to the pitfalls of economic determinism and reductionism. Insecurities and balance-of-power manoeuvres persist among major trading partners and they may even be necessary to prevent a slide into armed conflicts. But contrary to doomsday predictions that a second war between China and India is imminent any day, the expectation of deeper bilateral trade is helping to banish that prospect. However, Dale Copeland, a professor at the University of Virginia, has explained the pre-World War-I breakdown of cooperation and understanding among European powers as actually a vindication of liberal interdependence. The key for animus-free foreign relations, according to him, is not the past or present value of bilateral trade but the 'expectations for future trade'. Germany did have thick past and present trade relations with its European neighbours, but by the mid-1890s, it had become wary about trade protectionism from Britain, France and Russia. The idea of a 'central European economic area' seemed doomed by the early 1900s, as other European powers began to work in tandem to check the German industrial and exporting colossus. If Copeland got it right, the direction of Sino-Indian strategic ties will be determined by whether or not both parties believe that future bilateral trade is on a rosy path. Foreign minister S M Krishna recently exuded confidence that the two countries were on course to achieve a trade volume of $100 billion by 2015. Chinese diplomats project this figure to cross $120 billion even earlier. The 'future expectations' of trade are, hence, quite optimistic, even though New Delhi is dissatisfied with the massive trade deficit it is running with Beijing at the moment. So, has Pakistan's legendary 'special relationship' with China aimed at weakening India been buried by the avalanche of Sino-Indian trade and does this mean perpetual peace across the McMahon line? Such a conclusion is premature due to the pitfalls of economic determinism and reductionism. Insecurities and balance-of-power manoeuvres persist among major trading partners and they may even be necessary to prevent a slide into armed conflicts. But contrary to doomsday predictions that a second war between China and India is imminent any day, the expectation of deeper bilateral trade is helping to banish that prospect.
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India pitches for more trade, investment in SAARC (30 jan)
NEW DELHI: Pitching for greater free trade and investment among South Asian countries, India has stressed that the current "challenging international economic environment" can provide SAARC "a oncein-a-generation opportunity to catalyze the potential within the region". "We stand at an important juncture in the evolution of a more integrated South Asian economic community," Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said at the SAARC (South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation) Business Summit here last week, which brought business leaders from the region to explore ways to deepen trade and investment linkages in the region. "We need now to speak more on the steps needed to achieve this objective," he said while alluding to the burgeoning intra-regional trade. In the nearly six years since the South Asian Free Trade Area Agreement's (SAFTA) entry into force, intra-regional trade under SAFTA has touched US$1.4 billion - some 10 per cent of intra-regional trade but growth has been extraordinarily fast."There is potential for more," he said. Conjuring up an upbeat picture of the prospects of South Asia, Mathai said: "The South Asia region could emerge as a locomotive for the world economy if we ensure an environment for rapid growth, as also build on our complementarities to make the region a magnet for greater trade, investment and financial flows." He called for fast-tracking a regional investment treaty and creation of regional production chains to deepen economic linkages in the SAARC region that is home to nearly one-fifth of the humanity. "This process must be accompanied by an effort to enhance free trade in services, and to step up financial flows within the region, in particular, investment," said Mathai. "A SAARC Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement is pending finalisation since 2007. There is need also for policy measures that make it possible - and indeed advantageous - for our businessmen to invest in each other's economies," he stressed. "In conclusion, the current challenging international economic environment could also provide SAARC a once-in-a-generation opportunity to catalyze the potential within the region," Mathai emphasised. "We could set the standard as a region that manages the transition from emphasizing tariff and restrictive measures as mechanisms for raising resources, to one in which economic development and infrastructurecreation generate significantly-enhanced employment, human capacity and state-of-the-art infrastructure," he said."This has to be a public-private-partnership in the general meaning of that term," he added. At the 17th SAARC summit in the Maldives held in November last year, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had announced virtual elimination of India's Sensitive List for Least Developed Countries in the SAARC region. "By slashing this Sensitive List to just 25 tariff lines, we ensured that zero basic duty will now apply on almost all goods from the five SAARC LDCs," said Mathai. A week ago, India assumed presidency of the business chamber of the eight-member South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) after a gap of 12 years and stressed it would liberalise business visa norms to boost cross-border trade and investment in the region. Vikramjit Singh Sahney, corporate president of Sun Group, took over the presidency of the Saarc Chamber of Commerce and Industry from Bangladesh's Annisul Haq for a period of two years.
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Africa losing out billions in trade: World Bank (8 feb)
WASHINGTON: Africa is losing out on billions of dollars in potential earnings every year because of high trade barriers on the continent, the World Bank said Tuesday. "It is easier for Africa to trade with the rest of the world than with itself," the World Bank said in releasing a new report that examines the barriers that stifle cross-border trade within Africa. The report comes on the heels of an African Union summit in Ethiopia at which leaders called for a continental free-trade area by 2017. The World Bank stressed it was even more urgent that Africa improve trade flows because of the sharp economic slowdown under way in the eurozone, an important trade partner under pressure from the bloc's debt crisis. The World Bank estimates the eurozone slump could shave Africa's growth by up to 1.3 percentage points this year. "While uncertainty surrounds the global economy and stagnation is likely to continue in traditional markets in Europe and North America, enormous opportunities for cross-border trade within Africa in food products, basic manufactures and services remain unexploited," said the Washington-based lender. The report argues that the situation deprives the continent of new sources of economic growth, new jobs, and an opportunity to make important strides in reducing poverty. "Trade and non-trade barriers remain significant and fall most heavily and disproportionately on poor traders, most of whom are women," Obiageli Ezekwesili, the Bank's vice president for Africa, said in a statement. She added that leaders needed to "create a dynamic regional market on a scale worthy of Africa's one billion people and its roughly $2 trillion economy." Trade between African states currently stands at 10 percent of the region's total trade. In comparison, 40 percent of North America's trade is with regional partners and the rate soars to 63 percent in western Europe. Aside from red tape, poor infrastructure, especially roads and railways, is a key obstacle. Transport cost in Africa is more than 60 percent higher than the average in developed countries owing to the poor infrastructure. "Policymakers have to move beyond simply signing agreements that reduce tariffs to drive a more holistic process to deeper regional integration," the World Bank report said, citing an array of barriers that make Africa's borders "very thick" relative to other parts of the world. The international border running through Kinshasa-Brazzaville, Africa's third largest urban area, for example, is a huge bottleneck in trade between the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo, it said. Though the two cities are regional trade hubs, trade between them is "pitifully small," said the report, co-authored by Paul Brenton and Gozde Isik. The report notes that passenger traffic is about five time smaller than that between East and West Berlin before the fall of the Berlin Wall. If people traveling between San Francisco and Oakland, California, a similar distance, had to pay the same level of fees, they would pay between $1,200 and $2,400 for a return trip, it said. The exorbitant prices largely stem from lack of competition in river crossing services granted to the countries' national operators. In another example, the report said most traders on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring countries in the Great Lakes region are women, who say they "routinely" encounter violence, threats, demands for bribes, and sexual harassment at the hands of customs and other government officials at the border. Even within the regional bloc the Southern African Development Community, barriers remain formidably high. South African supermarket chain Shoprite spends $20,000 a week on import permits to distribute meat, milk and plant-based products to its stores in Zambia alone, the report said. Another South African retailer took three years to get permission to export processed beef and pork from South Africa to Zambia. Source:- [Link]
First international trade fair begins in Ranchi (19 feb) RANCHI: Over 375 global companies, including ArcelorMittal, ONGC, Tata Steel, SAIL, Jindal Steel & Power Limited, Grolier International, Samsung and Whirlpool will participate in the first Jharkhand International Trade Fair that will be inaugurated here on Sunday. The eight-day fair, being organized by India International Trade Event Organization in association with the state government, will also have stalls by Indian Army, Navy and IndoTibetan Border Police to make the youths aware of job opportunities. States like Gujarat, Bihar, Sikkim and Meghalay will also put up their pavilions in the fair. Organizer of the trade fair B S Negi said, "This is the first time that an international trade fair is being organized here on lines of India International Trade Fair (IITF), Delhi. We expect that people of Jharkhand who don't get a chance to visit Delhi will be able to visit the fair and get an idea of the fast changing economy," said Negi. Almost all the companies with global presence right from automobile to home appliance, fast moving consumer goods and handicrafts are participating in the fair. The objective behind inviting the army and the paramilitary forces to put up their stall is to make youths aware of job opportunities. "We have heard that many youths in the state have joined the rebels. We would like to make the youths aware of the opportunities that are waiting for them in elite forces of the country," said Negi adding that the organizers were hopeful that the trade fair would be able to bring changes in the perception of educated youths by informing them available of job opportunities. The fair will also give an opportunity to self-help groups, non-government organizations, various government departments and financial institutions. The organizers said brass band and dog show of Indo-Tibetan Border Police will be special attraction for visitors.
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India, 25 others nations to oppose EU airline carbon tax (23 feb) NEW DELHI: India, China, the US, Russia, Brazil and another 21 nations have decided to retaliate against the EU decision to collect billions of dollars every year by unilaterally imposing a carbon tax on flights landing in Euro zone. The retaliatory measures decided include reviewing or abrogating the bilateral service agreements and open skies' agreements with each European country, suspending all negotiations on operating rights for the EU airlines and aircraft operators and imposing additional levies and charges on flights coming in from European nations. The fallout could hit the domestic consumers hard since the number of European flights landing and flying from India could be reduced and the cost of tickets could increase exponentially. The decision to launch an all-out trade war against EU airlines was taken at a meeting of the 26 countries in Moscow on Wednesday after the EU refused to withdraw the unilateral carbon tax on fliers from other nations. The measure would help EU pocket around $1.5 billion starting 2013 that will go up every year, thanks to the annual carbon tax at the cost of fliers from India and other countries ostensibly to combat climate change, some industry estimates have suggested. The EU tax also falls foul of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the International aviation agreements, according to India and like-minded nations in the group. The country representatives met to decide on a basket of measures that the group countries can pick to launch counter-attack against an obstinate EU. New Delhi could also give orders to the Indian airlines not to participate in the EU carbon tax on aviation just like China has done, and other countries like Russia and Brazil are expected to follow suit soon. If New Delhi goes ahead and imposes these measures it could mean taxing times ahead for those flying in and out of Europe from India. The flip side: the number of flights to and from Europe could be reduced with prices ratcheting substantially higher. Some of the key decisions taken in Moscow were filing application under the Chicago Convention on International Aviation and hauling EU to WTO dispute settlement. It also includes decisions to demand more data and information from EU carriers. The full-blown trade war could also put the on-going climate talks for a future global regime in jeopardy as the BASIC nations - India, China, South Africa and Brazil - have earlier warned. The meeting is a follow up of an earlier deliberation, held in Delhi, where these 26 nations had warned the EU against taking the unilateral decision when negotiations about greenhouse gas reductions are underway under the UN climate convention. India and other developing countries have all along insisted that aviation and maritime emissions should be tackled while keeping the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities in mind.
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US congressmen ask India to reconsider decision on ties with Iran (17 feb) WASHINGTON: Two US lawmakers have asked India to reconsider its decision to send a trade delegation to Iran and expressed their concern over reports that it has surpassed China as the top purchaser of Iranian crude oil. "We write today to express our serious concern with the announcement that your government will send a large trade delegation to Iran within the next few weeks in order to explore economic opportunities," said Congressmen Steve Israel and Richard Hanna in a letter to Indian Ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao. "We know India shares our goal of ensuring that Iran does not get a nuclear capability and appreciate India's votes against Iran at the IAEA. We also appreciate that India has ended the sale of refined petroleum to Iran and has not moved forward with the India-Pakistan-Iran pipeline," they said in the letter dated February 15. "But now is not the time to neither explore future trade opportunities with Iran nor increase business ties. We respectfully urge your government to reconsider its decision to send a trade delegation to Iran and ask that you stand firm with the international coalition working diligently to pressure the Iranian regime to abandon its dangerous pursuit of nuclear weapons," they said. The Congressmen said, the Indian announcement of sending trade delegation to Iran comes as the international coalition working to isolate the Iranian regime continues to stand firm in applying pressure through international sanctions aimed at Iran's energy and financial sectors. "At a time when global businesses and financial institutions are pulling out of Iran and refusing to conduct business, we hope that your country will join this coalition instead of hindering its progress," they said. "We are also deeply concerned to learn of reports that India has surpassed China as the top purchaser of Iranian crude oil. Financial institutions that continue to facilitate purchases of petroleum products from Iran could now face possible sanctions according to US law," the Congressmen said. "Our allies around the globe are now searching for non- Iranian sources to meet their energy needs. Given the strong US-India partnership, we hope that your country will follow suit and decrease its reliance on Iranian crude oil," they hoped.
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China keeps gasoline supply flowing to Iran (27 feb) DUBAI/SINGAPORE: China has helped Iran dodge tightening sanctions this year by regularly selling it much-needed gasoline, shipping and trade sources said, but rising tensions could force even some Chinese companies to stop, at least temporarily. China is the biggest buyer of Iranian crude oil and has condemned US censure of one of its top trading companies for the gasoline trade. Beijing operates free of sanctions imposed by the United States and European Union. A total of 350,000 tonnes, or around 10 cargoes of gasoline were shipped since the start of the year, shipping and trade sources said. Although an major oil producer, Iran's aging refineries struggle to produce enough fuel and imports are vital to fill the shortfall. China's state oil traders - Unipec, Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp and Chinaoil - were among the regular gasoline suppliers of Iran, five Gulf-based oil traders said. The companies were not immediately available for comment. Chinese companies have emerged as the major gasoline suppliers into Iran, especially after trading houses such as Vitol and Trafigura and major oil companies have stopped doing business with Tehran due to sanctions. China is set to reduce the amount of crude it will buy from Iran this year, but still will remain a significant buyer and one of Tehran's biggest trading partners. Its oil trade with Iran is worth some $20 billion a year and its imports rose by 30 percent to a record volume of 555,000 barrels per day (bpd) last year. While many traders believe this partnership will not budge in the face of Washington's escalating pressure on the international community to stop doing business with Iran, it may put things on hold, at least for a while. "Basically PetroChina was supplying them all through January but for now that appears to have stopped," one Gulf-based trader said. "Perhaps publicity and new sanctions were just too much for them," he added. "PetroChina might have stopped as an entity. But they seem to be channeling all the trade through Zhuhai Zhenrong," another Gulf-based trader said. Washington in January imposed sanctions on the state-run company, which it said was Iran's largest supplier of refined petroleum products. Traders did not think the sanctions would have an impact on the company's capability to continue selling to Iran."They have this company like a cash settlement desk. All the trade they have goes through this company and why would they stop? They're buying Chinese cargoes, ships belong to China and getting the insurance in China," he said. China denounced US sanctions on Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp, calling Washington's punishment an unreasonable step beyond international sanctions, aimed to curb Tehran's nuclear ambitions, which Western governments say appear aimed at developing the means to make atomic weapons. Iran says its nuclear activities are legitimate and for peaceful ends. "In my opinion, the Chinese would never stop supplying to Iran," a third Gulf-based trader said. "They might go quiet for a while, and then a few months later we see an interesting fixture out of Singapore."
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Government sets up committee to regulate Internet-based drug trade (7 feb) NEW DELHI: Even as a raging controversy brews over monitoring Internet content in the country, government has recently constituted a high-level committee to put in place "regulatory and legislative" measures to check online pharmacies trading in banned drugs. Termed by anti-narcotic sleuths as one of the most "lethal and clever modus operandi" used by drug traffickers to smuggle psychotropic substances in and out of the country, the government has now woken up to the threat posed by 'Internet pharmacies' and has set up a committee under the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to firm up country's action against the illegal online trade. The clandestine business, according to top sources, also begets blackmoney and finances criminal activities. The committee is a part of the new drugs policy unveiled by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee yesterday. The committee will also consider to establish "cyber patrol units" to intercept syndicates and individuals indulging in such criminal activities over the Internet. The NCB Director led committee, set up to look "into the whole gamut of issues pertaining to Internet pharmacies, will recommend to put in place regulatory, administrative and legislative measures to control Internet pharmacies and seek active cooperation of Internet service providers" in this regard. It will not only mull to introduce legislation for routing and inspection of international mail (containing contraband couriers) but will also seek cooperation and exchange of information with other enforcement agencies like CBI, DRI and ED, within the country.
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EU open to talks but won't scrap carbon tax for airlines (13 feb) SINGAPORE: Europe is willing to discuss its new carbon emissions tax for airlines with disgruntled governments but has no plans to scrap the levy, a top EU official said Monday. "We're ready to negotitate within our framework," Siim Kallas, European Commission vice president and transport commisssioner, said at an aviation conference in Singapore. "We aren't trying to dominate the world." The EU imposed the tax, known as the emissions trading scheme, on Jan. 1 in a bid to curb emissions of climate-changing gases but money will not be collected until next year. Under the system, airlines flying to or from Europe must obtain certificates for carbon dioxide emissions. They will get free credits to cover most flights this year but must buy or trade for credits to cover the rest. Airlines and governments have complained the tax is too costly and was implemented unilaterally by Europe. Industry leaders are warning the disagreement could spark a trade war between Europe and the rest of the world. "I'm very worried," said Tom Enders, chief executive of Airbus, the world's largest commercial airplane maker. "What started out as a solution for the environment has become a source of potential trade conflict." Last week, China barred its carriers from paying the charges or other fees without government permission, and Russia, India and the U.S. have also voiced opposition. The International Air Transport Association, which represents 240 airlines, is urging the EU to negotiate new carbon emissions guidelines through the International Civil Aviation Organization. "Non-European governments see this extraterritorial tax collection as an attack on their sovereignty," IATA CEO Tony Tyler said Monday. "Aviation can ill afford to be caught in an escalating political or trade conflict." Tyler, who previously was CEO of Cathay Pacific Airways, reiterated IATA's forecast that airline profits will likely fall to $3.5 billion this year from $6.9 billion last year as a slowing global economy and high fuel costs pinch earnings. Kallas said the inability for governments to forge a global deal on reducing carbon emissions prompted the EU to act. "The EU asked for years and years that there be a global solution on climate change," Kallas said. "We're protecting our citizens."
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Drag China to WTO on currency issue: Senators (1 Feb) Washington: Two top American Senators have asked the Obama Administration to drag China to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on the currency issue. Addressing China's currency policy in a multilateral manner holds the greatest promise for an effective and meaningful solution, Senators Max Baucus and Dave Camp wrote in a letter to the US Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, and the US Trade Representatives, Ron Kirk. "The Administration's efforts at the G20 have helped to develop an international consensus about how important it is for China to rebalance its economy and allow its currency to more accurately reflect market forces," the letter said. Baucus is Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, while Camp is Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. China will not end its currency undervaluation unless the US seizes opportunities like this to insist it does, the Senators felt, adding that expanding and intensifying discussions at the WTO can further this effort and bring significantly more pressure to bear on China. "Today we write to focus on one aspect of this issue: the opportunity in the World Trade Organization (WTO) to discuss the role of exchange rate practices in trade policy," they said. Supporting the ongoing efforts at the WTO to understand the impact on trade of exchange rate policies, the Senators said the WTO Secretariat's recently concluded literature survey is a positive first step towards understanding the relationship between trade and exchange rate policies.
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