Daily News - Tuesday, 22 April 2025

Govt imposes 12% safeguard duty on steel (mint)

⁠To shield its domestic steel industry from a surge in cheap imports, especially post-Trump tariffs redirecting Chinese surplus, India has imposed a 12% safeguard duty on steel imports for 200 days starting 21 April 2025. This comes amid a steep rise in FY25 steel imports to 9.5 million tonnes—up 15% from 8.3 mt in FY24—and a sharp fall in exports to a decade-low of 5 mt, resulting in a 10-year high steel trade deficit of 4.5 mt. The safeguard duty, recommended by the Directorate General of Safeguards and preferred over customs hikes due to its broad applicability across FTAs, is expected to counteract unfairly priced imports from China, Japan, and South Korea, protecting jobs and domestic investments. 

FM: First tranche of India, US trade deal by autumn (mint)

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that India aims to finalize the first tranche of its bilateral trade agreement with the US by the American autumn (mid-September to mid-December), with negotiations steadily progressing and both sides addressing key tariff-related issues. Speaking in San Francisco during her official US visit (20–25 April) for the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings, she emphasized India’s strong diplomatic engagement, citing prior visits by PM Modi, the Commerce Minister, and meetings scheduled with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. She also noted the involvement of US Vice President J.D. Vance and the USTR’s junior minister, signaling momentum toward a broader trade partnership between the two nations.

India wants Brazil’s farm tech to grow more from less land (mint)

⁠India, despite harvesting a record 15 million tonnes of soybeans in 2024–25, continues to import 3.7 million tonnes of soybean oil annually due to significantly lower yields, just 1 tonne per hectare versus Brazil’s 3.3 tonnes. In response, Indian policymakers are studying Brazil’s precision farming practices, including GPS-guided equipment, double cropping, and sustainable techniques, to boost yields of soybean, maize, and tomatoes and reduce dependence on edible oil imports while meeting rising ethanol-driven maize demand. Brazil is projected to produce a record 172 million tonnes of soybeans from 45 million hectares, highlighting the transformative potential of adopting its high-tech agricultural model in India.

Gold in elite zone, knocks at ₹1,00,000 for 10 gram (Financial Chronicle)

Gold prices in India surged toward the ₹1 lakh per kg mark in the domestic spot market, with 24-carat gold priced at ₹99,950 per 10 gm on Monday, tracking a sharp rise in global rates to $3,424/oz amid escalating US-China trade tensions and a weakening dollar index—the lowest since 2022. The MCX reflected similar gains with gold trading at ₹97,236 per 10 gm, while silver in Delhi rose slightly to ₹98,500 per kg; the yellow metal has appreciated 36% since January due to strong central bank and ETF demand. China’s firm stance against broader economic deals with the US, along with its pivot toward AI-driven services trade, has intensified trade war fears, which could continue to push gold prices higher unless diplomatic resolution efforts gain traction. 

⁠Pharma exports grow 9.3% to cross $30 billion in value (Financial Chronicle)

⁠India’s pharmaceutical exports surged 9.39% in FY25 to $30.467 billion (₹2.57 lakh crore), with March alone seeing a 31% jump to $3.681 billion due to frontloaded global shipments, despite lingering tariff threats under the new Trump administration. Domestically, the pharma market grew 8.4% to ₹2.2 lakh crore, supported by a 5.6% price hike and 2.4% rise in new launches, even as volume growth slowed to 0.4%; essential medicines under NLEM formed 12.7% of the market and are price-regulated, while the remaining 87% saw automatic price increases of up to 10%. Eased pricing pressure in the US—India’s top export market contributing 33–35% of pharma revenues—also bolstered earnings for generic drug manufacturers in FY25.