The Rupee Fall

With the Indian rupee falling sharply to an all-time low this week, there has been a mix reaction in the trade community. Experts say labour-intensive sectors like handicrafts, carpets, engineering goods etc may benefit from the ongoing rupee depreciation, while the highly import-dependent industries such as gems & jewellery, may enjoy limited gains. Besides this, much has always been said about the vast amount of paperwork traders have to fill due to lack of digitisation of trade documents, which is especially true in India. On these lines, to boost the country’s digital footprint, the UK recently announced a bill to legalise electronic trade documents, facilitating faster shipping of goods.

ECONOMY

Rupee fall to help exports rise by up to 10%

Indian exporters of carpets, handicrafts, and engineering goods expect up to 10% benefit from the ongoing rupee depreciation. Sectors with a low dependence on imports stand to gain while others will lose their benefits to higher oil and commodity prices, they said.

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BILATERAL TRADE

India, Uzbekistan agree to exploit potential of Chabahar port for trade

India and Uzbekistan on Wednesday held the 15th round of India-Uzbekistan Foreign Office Consultations (FoC) where both sides agreed to exploit the full potential of Chabahar port for trade.

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INTERNATIONAL TRADE

After Pakistan, Sri Lanka, is Nepal next? Why South Asia’s economic woes are structural

Even as India grapples with the economic crisis in Sri Lanka, another country is on the verge of facing a similar economic emergency in its vicinity. This time, it is our neighbour in the north, Nepal, which is showing classic symptoms of a brewing economic crisis.

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SUPPLY CHAIN

U.S. seeks better supply chain resilience with Southeast Asia -Raimondo

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Thursday that the United States was looking to deepen resilience of supply chains with Southeast Asian partners.

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COVID-19 IMPACT

China trade weakens after cities shut down to fight coronavirus outbreaks

China’s export growth tumbled in April after Shanghai and other industrial cities were shut down to fight virus outbreaks. Exports rose 3.7 per cent over a year earlier to USD 273.6 billion, down sharply from March’s 15.7 per cent growth, customs data showed Monday.

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