Daily News - Friday, 11 July 2025
Looking to expedite review of Asean trade pact: Piyush Goyal (Financial Express)
India is pushing to accelerate the long-pending review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA), aiming for a fairer deal as it faces a growing trade deficit with the bloc—now at $44.2 billion in 2024–25, up from just $4.98 billion in 2010–11. Despite cutting duties on 71% of its traded products, India claims ASEAN nations offered significantly fewer concessions—Indonesia on only 41%, Vietnam 66.5%, and Thailand 67%—while also benefiting from non-tariff barriers and potentially Chinese-subsidized inputs. With just five months left before the 2025-end review deadline, India is also demanding stricter enforcement of rules of origin to curb misuse of the FTA and ensure genuine, balanced trade.
Government to tighten oversight of claims portal to check inflated hospital bills (Financial Express)
The government is shifting control of the National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX) from the health ministry to the finance ministry to tackle inflated hospital billing for insured patients, which has been a key driver of rising health insurance premiums—up to 20% annually. Now to be regulated by IRDA under the Department of Financial Services, the move aims to give insurers greater bargaining power to push hospitals toward rate standardization, addressing a system where hospitals reportedly inflate charges once they know a patient is insured. Although incurred claims ratios have come down post-COVID (to 103% for public insurers and 89% for private in FY24), many insurers still report losses, while hospitals remain the only consistent profit-makers in the health insurance value chain.
Dairy certificate rules face fresh heat from US at WTO (The Economic Times)
The US has reiterated its concerns at the WTO over India’s veterinary certificate requirements for dairy imports, calling them unscientific and unnecessarily restrictive for American exporters. India mandates that imported milk and dairy products be free from drugs, antibiotics, pesticides, and heavy metals, with certification from the exporting country’s authority—rules the US says haven’t been addressed even in the updated certificate effective from November 2024. The issue adds friction to ongoing trade negotiations, especially as India maintains a firm stance on protecting its dairy and agriculture sectors ahead of its upcoming WTO trade policy review.
Energy storage companies must cut import dependence: Piyush Goyal (The Economic Times)
At the India Energy Storage Week, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal urged the industry to reduce reliance on imports—particularly from countries like China—and build supply chain resilience through innovation and diversification. Emphasizing self-sufficiency, he called for joint efforts in developing charging and battery swapping infrastructure to boost EV adoption and ensure affordable e-mobility. Goyal also highlighted India’s clean energy progress, noting a 4,000% jump in solar capacity and a nearly 38-fold rise in solar module manufacturing, reflecting strong strides in domestic renewable energy production.
India gears up for WTO trade policy review as EU chief calls for an alternative to the World Trade Organization (The Indian Express)
As global multilateralism falters—with the WTO’s dispute settlement body stalled and the UN Security Council seen as ineffective—India is reaffirming its commitment to a rules-based trade system by initiating preparations for its eighth WTO trade policy review. This comes amid mounting concerns over the US bypassing multilateral forums in favor of bilateral deals, and further escalating tensions by doubling tariffs on Indian steel and aluminium to 50%, prompting India to revise its retaliation plan under WTO norms. India’s proposed countermeasures could affect $7.6 billion in U.S. exports, with potential duties totaling $3.82 billion, signalling its intent to defend trade interests even as alternative blocs like the EU-CPTPP axis seek to reshape the global trade architecture.
