-The Hindu The WTO Panel reports are a pointer to the U.S. — the once undisputed trade hegemon — turning away from free trade and moving toward growing protectionism In a significant development in international trade law, four separate World Trade Organization (WTO) Panel reports have ruled that the tariffs of 25% and 10% on steel and aluminium, respectively, that the United States (U.S.) had imposed during the presidency of Donald Trump...

-The Hindu Business Line The negotiations must be conducted in a transparent manner especially on issues regarding intellectual property Every time countries negotiate a trade deal, public health workers are forced to keep their ear to the ground, to ensure there is no trade-off on health. And that seems to be the case this time too, in the build-up to the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the United Kingdom. Leaked...

-The Hindu Ensuring government support for financial incentives, upgrading technologies and reskilling labour are key challenges South Asia became a major player in the global textiles and clothing market with the onset of the third wave of global production. Bangladesh joined the league in the 1980s, owing to the outbreak of the civil war in Sri Lanka. Supportive industrial policy was an instrumental factor in the 1990s, with zero duty on raw...

One is almost certain to hear this from an economist that if something is available at free of cost or at a subsidised rate thanks to government intervention, then people tend to overuse or overconsume such goods/ commodities. So, the best solution is to create a market for such 'almost freely available' or 'highly subsidised' goods or commodities. Once people start paying to use or consume such goods/ commodities, they...

-The Hindu Business Line WTO has allowed countries to issue compulsory licenses during emergencies A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to respond to a plea for invoking the compulsory licensing to allow other capable vaccine manufacturers to produce Covid vaccines. The Bench comprising Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan and Justice M.R.Anitha passed the directive when a public interest litigation in this regard came up for hearing. The petition...