Teade in UK

The United Kingdom reported a trade deficit equivalent to 4421 Million GBP in May of 2012. Historically, from 1955 until 2012, the United Kingdom Balance of Trade averaged -1157.8 Million GBP reaching an all time high of 2946.0 Million GBP in March of 1981 and a record low of -6067.0 Million GBP in August of 2005. The United Kingdom is the world's fifth-largest trading nation, highly dependent on foreign trade. It must import almost all its copper, ferrous metals, lead, zinc, rubber, and raw cotton and about one-third of its food. The United Kingdom's exports manufactured items like telecommunications equipment, automobiles, automatic data processing equipment, medicinal and pharmaceutical products and aircraft. Its main trading partners are European Union countries, The United States, China and Japan. This page includes a chart with historical data for the United Kingdom Balance of Trade.

The balance of trade is the difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time. A positive balance of trade is known as a trade surplus and consists of exporting more than is imported; a negative balance of trade is known as a trade deficit or, informally, a trade gap. The balance of trade forms part of the current account, which also includes other transactions such as income from the international investment position as well as international aid. If the current account is in surplus, the country's net international asset position increases correspondingly. Equally, a deficit decreases the net international asset position. The Balance of Trade is identical to the difference between a country's output and its domestic demand - the difference between what goods a country produces and how many goods it buys from abroad; this does not include money respent on foreign stocks, nor does it factor the concept of importing goods to produce for the domestic market.

The information provided on this site is not intended to be distributed to, or used by, any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to law or regulation or which would subject ETSL, ETHK or their affiliates to any registration requirement within such jurisdiction or country. Neither the information, nor any opinion contained in this site constitutes a solicitation or offer by ETSL or ETHK or any affiliates to buy or sell any securities, foreign exchange, futures, options or other financial instruments or provide any investment advice or service.

Past performance is no guarantee of future performance or success, whether actual or historic. System response and account access times may vary or fail due to a variety of factors including market volatility and trading volumes, market conditions, system and software errors, Internet traffic, outages or other factors beyond ETSL, ETHK or their affiliates' control.

This web site is managed by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) Trade Statistics unit, and operates alongside the main HMRC website for the purpose of publishing and hosting UK trade statistics data.

These statistics record the movement - for trade purposes - of goods between the UK and both EU and non-EU countries.

They are collected from the EU-wide Intrastat survey and from Customs import and export entries, both administered by HMRC.  he UK remains firmly committed to the multilateral system of free and fair global trade, as governed by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Whilst this will always provide the best route for trade liberalisation, FTAs can bring real economic benefits if they are implemented in the correct way. Even following a successful conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda (the current round WTO trade negotiations), obstacles will still remain in place for businesses, and FTAs could help tackle these.

Free Trade Agreements can bring real economic benefits to UK business, offering deep and comprehensive market opening.  For example, the EU-South Korea FTA will bring a £1.4 billion reduction in Korean tariffs on EU industrial exports, half of which will be immediate, and could deliver £500 million of economic benefits annually to the UK economy.

The EU is currently negotiating a number of FTAs. Including with South Korea, India, Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay), Canada, Ukraine and Singapore. The EU already has FTAs with South Africa (since 1999), Mexico (since 2000) and Chile (since 2002).

According to Royal Mail Packetpost instructions, it is recommend that all items are sent via the Post Office(TM), as all items will receive a proof of posting (which helps cover against fraud, and also without which you cannot claim for any loss or damage against Royal Mail). If posted in a pillar-box, the customer should be aware of having no proof of posting. To find your closest Post Office(TM) location, visit the branch finder or go to www.royalmail.co.uk and select 'branch finder'. We're constantly updating the trade-in programme with new titles. Please check back often to see what's been added.

There is a yawning chasm between the way the Tory government treats its friends in the City and the public at large. 

UK trade

After the latest rate fixing scandal, Bank of England governor Mervyn King described the banks' behaviour as shoddy and deceitful, but Cameron is still not backing a public inquiry. Why?

Instead, we learn that one of Barclays' top bosses has been appointed to the NHS Commissioning Board and given a say over its finances. What a disgrace - we don't want a banking culture - mired in deceit - brought into our NHS.

While the bankers and financiers enjoy smoked salmon and champagne at Wimbledon, families across the public sector have had their pay frozen and struggle to put food on the table and to pay their bills.

It's time to stop the cronyism and start building an economy based on fairness and opportunity for all - not just for the few. 

The Trade Delegation of the Russian Federation in the United Kingdom as a governmental body is acting on the basis of the bilateral intergovernmental agreement and representing economic interests of Russia in this country.

The Trade Delegation is one of the organizers of the functioning and active provider of the solutions for the Russia-Britain Intergovernmental Steering Committee on Trade and Investment and its working groups on High-tech, Energy, Construction and Aviation/Aerospace. The Committee is considered to be one of the most effective forms of the support to business.

trade balance

For the United States and United Kingdom, our economic well-being is inextricably linked to one another. We are each other’s largest investors, and largest foreign employers. Our mutual language, common history and shared values make business collaborations between Britain and America easier and more prosperous. We are home to innovators and entrepreneurs who are building the economies of the future.

This page is a portal to explore doing business with the UK. You can find out more about the incomparable bonds of UK-US trade and investment. You can learn about the core strengths of the UK economy. And you can find resources for your business to expand into the UK with the help of UK Trade and Investment (UKTI).

Economists said that net trade did probably make a positive contribution to the UK economy in the final quarter of 2011 but would probably not be enough to avoid overall growth being virtually flat or even negative thanks in part to a slump in consumer spending.

There were also warnings that the government's hopes of rebalancing the economy away from domestic demand towards manufacturing and foreign trade will be hard to realise this year.

"Exports appear to have regained a modest upward trend in recent months, which is likely to have persisted into December. Trade is nevertheless unlikely to contribute strongly to UK economic growth in 2012, which looks set to be a challenging year as signs of improved demand from countries such as the US and China are likely to be countered by weak demand in the eurozone," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit. "The longer term outlook is one where 2012 looks set to be a challenging year for UK exporters."

The news of falling exports and official figures showing a dip in growth in Britain's key European trading partner Germany renewed calls for exporters to look further afield to emerging markets.

"The UK is pinning much of its hopes on exports to power the recovery, but with our main markets struggling it's imperative that exporters look to new, faster-growing, markets if they are to play their part," said Andrew Goodwin, senior economic adviser to the Ernst & Young Item Club.

"The UK lags well behind other developed economies, such as Germany, in its penetration of emerging markets, but with our traditional markets facing a long, hard struggle, the time is right for UK exporters to make that move."

In November, despite the ongoing eurozone crisis, there was a slight rise in exports from the UK to its most important trading area. Exports to the European Union edged up – albeit by less than £0.1bn – while exports to non-EU countries fell £0.4bn from October.

Vicky Redwood at Capital Economics the rise in exports to EU countries was surprising but unlikely to be sustained.

"We doubt that the recent resilience will last as eurozone demand weakens. The recent rise in the pound to a 16 month high against the euro won't help either," she said.

The ONS said the overall drop in exports was driven by lower exports of silver to non-EU countries, including India.

At the same time, imports rose £0.4bn, driven largely by goods coming in from EU countries and slightly higher imports from non-EU countries, which reached a record level. The overall rise in imports was driven by higher imports of chemicals largely from EU countries, including Ireland.

The ONS said the trade deficit for goods and services taken together widened to £2.6bn from £1.9bn as the services surplus held steady.

trade balance

Why is trade important?

Trade can be explained as the exchange of goods between those who produce them (the producers) and those who consume them (the consumers).

Trade is important as it is a vital interaction for every country in the world. Without trade, countries would have to provide their own resources for every aspect in their daily life. Take for instance items such as food, clothing and technology. This would mean that a country is completely self-reliant which is difficult as the resource capacity for each country is limited. This is a particular issue for developing or less developed countries that cannot fully provide for themselves due to a lack of technology or education. However, even a developed country would struggle if it had to be fully self-reliant. Look around the room you are in and pick up an item, it is very unlikely it will be made in the country you are in. Trade is also used within a country. For instance, a small farm may provide produce for a local shop.

Trading is also important as it contributes to the economy of a country. For instance, one country produces a good and then sells it to another country. This provides income which can then be used for development within the country such as by funding education and the emergency services. Trading also adds to the economy as it provides millions of jobs across the globe. Trade is also important as countries may import goods more cheaply than they can produce on their own.

A particularly important part of trade is the idea of fair trade. Fair trade enables that all those involved in the trading network have fair wages and good working conditions. This is particularly important for those in less developed countries that work in unsafe conditions on low wages but the goods they produce are then sold for a high price in the country that gains them. 

As movements in the terms of trade reflect changes in relative prices, it is often unclear how these movements affect the real economy. Although this has been debated extensively in the literature to date, there is still no consensus view about how trends in the terms of trade impact on economic growth.

The most common view is that the terms of trade has a positive impact on economic growth. An increase in export prices relative to import prices allows a larger volume of imports to be purchased with a given volume of exports. The implied increase in the real purchasing power of domestic production is equivalent to a transfer of income from the rest of the world and can have large impacts on consumption, savings and investment. The terms of trade can also be thought of as a rate of return on investment and therefore a secular improvement in the terms of trade leads to an increase in investment and hence economic growth. A graphical illustration of the income effect of a movement in the terms of trade is shown in Figure 2. Real gross domestic income (RGDI) measures the purchasing power of the total income generated by domestic production. The difference between real GDP and RGDI is defined as the terms of trade effect. The appreciation of the terms of trade over 2004 led to a boost in real incomes and this is shown by RGDI exceeding real GDP over 2004 and 2005.

Fair trade is important because in many poorer countries, prices are so low that workers are unable to earn enough to live off of. Also, some goods are produced in ways that are exploitative to workers, or ways that are unsustainable environmentally, damaging to the environment in the communities in which the goods are produced.Fair trade does not instantly solve all these problems, but it aims to potentially address some of them in ways that conventional trade does not.

Trade facilitation can provide important opportunities for Africa by increasing the benefits from open trade, and contributing to economic growth and poverty reduction. Removing trade barriers has contributed to the expansion of global trade in the decade after the conclusion of the trade negotiations of the Uruguay Round in 1994 and the subsequent establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO). However, the quest for more open trade is not an end in of itself but driven by the experience that open trade provides more economic opportunities for people. Producers can offer their goods and services to more customers, and consumers have more choices, lower prices, and access to innovations. Open markets increase prospects of producing and selling new ideas and products locally, regionally and in global markets, which leads to more income opportunities and the improvement of living standards.

 However, most African countries face considerable challenges to achieving more open trade. One reason is that the costs of trading remain stubbornly high, which prevents potential African exporters competing in global and even in regional markets. Realizing this trend, policy makers have started paying more attention to addressing trade-discouraging non-tariff barriers.

 Trade facilitation measures have become a key instrument to create a better trading environment. The international community has acknowledged that for many lower income countries having better market access to industrial countries is insufficient  unless the capabilities to trade are addressed as well. The resulting trade capacity building activities evolved into a broader and comprehensive Aid for Trade agenda, with trade facilitation playing a major role in these efforts.

This chapter argues for approaching trade facilitation in a comprehensive way by addressing the new challenges to trade, which no longer arise predominantly from high tariffs but from barriers behind the border. This approach highlights the need for cross-sector analysis, for example along the value-chain of products, to address trade bottlenecks. However, the biggest obstacle to greater trade integration is the lack of accompanying policy and regulatory reforms. Trade facilitation can provide opportunities for African exporters if hard infrastructure and technical advice are backed by equally ambitious policy reforms.

important of trade

The reasoning behind the efforts to address the trade challenges beyond the traditional areas is the impact on trade costs of factors along the whole trading chain. The more comprehensive approach to trade facilitation examines the costs that traders and producers face from production until the delivery of their goods and services to the overseas buyer and thereby includes all the transaction costs both directly and indirectly associated with the trading process.

Trade facilitation measures must therefore be designed to assist countries to lower trade costs and become more competitive in regional and global markets. With the removal of most quotas and a general reduction of tariffs, the search for the causes of high trading costs is shifting towards:

Costs of transportation and logistics: determined by components such as availability and quality of logistics services, market structures and the degree of competition that they allow, transportation fleets, and regulatory environments;

Physical infrastructure: for example, hazardous roads, lack of capacity of ports and airports, and railways hampered by decaying networks;

Additional market entry barriers: mandatory or voluntary quality and safety standards which can inhibit the access to regional and overseas markets (particularly prevalent in food trade but also exist in a range of technical products); limited information about overseas markets marketing and consumer demands reduce opportunities.

The term “trade facilitation” has different interpretations. Even among international organizations engaged in trade promotion, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the World Bank slightly different approaches have emerged. However, the classic approach could be described as focused predominantly on the removal of barriers to the international movement of goods and. in particular, on the procedures at and around borders (e.g., simplification of customs procedures).

 The trade facilitation part of the WTO negotiations, for example, focuses on transactions at the border, such as documentary requirements, transparency of customs clearance and transit procedures, and disciplines on fees and taxes. This traditional view of trade facilitation is motivated to improve border and transit management procedures and their implementation and thereby remove obstacles to trade in goods at the border; less attention is paid to “behind and between the border” issues.

he U.S. says that "important progress" has been achieved during the latest round of talks aimed at crafting a wide-ranging trade pact with eight other Pacific nations.

The countries concluded their 13th round of negotiations on Tuesday in the western U.S. city of San Diego. U.S. trade officials said "particularly significant" progress was made on dealing with customs regulations, cross-border services, telecommunications and government purchases.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership scheduled another negotiating session in September outside Washington, with Canada and Mexico slated to join the talks in coming months. Besides the U.S., the partnership now includes Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

The office of U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said the talks advanced in twenty areas of negotiation. U.S. President Barack Obama has said that a pact with the Pacific nations is a trade priority, which he sees as a way to cut into the U.S. trade deficit and boost the country's labor market.

One trade expert, Gary Hufbauer of the nonpartisan Petersen Institute for International Economics in Washington, said that after three years of talks, officials had hoped to wrap up an agreement this year. Although that timetable now seems unrealistic, he said an agreement could be reached next year and ratified in 2014.

"Other countries want us to liberalize some agricultural products, which have long not been liberalized: dairy products, sugar, beef," he said, adding that the U.S. is also being asked to liberalize barriers on clothing, textiles, and footwear. "They also want us to liberalize services which have not been liberalized, [such as] government procurement of services like contracts for data-processing, and so on."

Hufbauer said the U.S. is not alone in having to confront difficult issues on specific products, and that tough negotiations remain.

The outcome of the upcoming presidential election between Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney, he added, is unlikely to make much difference in the outcome of the talks, as both candidates have said they favor the new trade pact.

WE wish Gov. Chris Gregoire success on her trade mission to the British Isles. No doubt some folks will persist in dismissing such trips as junkets. In fact, they are important to the people of Washington.

The trip's focus is the annual air show, held this year at Farnborough, England. In aerospace, everyone who is anyone is there; to be an aerospace-component CEO is to be one ant on the hill. Having a governor along changes that. It opens doors for participating companies here.

That includes doors at Airbus Industrie, Boeing's rival. People here may think of Airbus as the enemy, but if you are one of 720 aerospace suppliers in Washington, Airbus is a potential customer — and a big one. One of Gregoire's tasks is to take Washington executives to talk to executives of the European aerospace giant.

Another of her tasks is to tell foreign companies that Washington is a good place to invest. Why? Because other states have officials touting their advantages, which may include subsidies. Washington has forbidden itself to offer those, which is all the more reason to have a governor, accompanied by successful business people, to tell investors in person that Washington wants their investments.

European Trade Commissioner, Karel De Gucht, discussed with members of the European Parliament's International Trade Committee (INTA) prospects of a transatlantic trade agreement and its possible impact on the EU and the US economies, emphasising the great potential for supporting jobs and growth.

Commissioner De Gucht underlined the importance of EU-US trade relations, pointing out that “more that €1.8 billion of goods are traded every day between the European Union and United States”. He stressed that during the November 2011 EU-US summit a high-level working group on jobs and growth was established. Subsequently, the US Chamber of Commerce called on creation of a tariff-free trade zone across the Atlantic.

important of trade

“Enhanced compatibility is in economic and political terms the most important challenge for an ambitious transatlantic agreement,” De Gucht said and pointed out that investment regimes between the EU and the US are already open. He emphasised that market access to government procurement should be substantially improved and reminded that both the US and the EU are committed to protection of intellectual property rights. 

President Ma Ying-jeou's government has spelled out interest in the U.S.-based Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which it regards as crucial for export-dependent Taiwan to remain competitive in the region.

However, the chances of Taiwan being invited to join the Pacific Rim trade bloc are considered limited if it continues its long-running dispute with Washington over its refusal to import U.S. beef containing the leanness-enhancing drug ractopamine, which is banned in Taiwan.

Burghardt said that whether or not Taiwan should be allowed to join in the TPP negotiations is a "legitimate question."

"As Ma was startlingly frank in acknowledging in his remarks, Taiwan has acquired some really serious protectionist habits and gotten used to a protectionist approach to trade. And that's going to be hard to give up," he said.

The United States has hinted on many occasions that as long as Taiwan does not resolve the U.S. beef controversy it will not restart bilateral trade talks that have been stalled since 2007. The resumption of the talks is regarded as helpful to Taiwan's efforts to join the TPP bloc. 

In one of those odd NBA twists, the Lakers’ trade of Lamar Odom to Dallas before last season paved the way for Nash’s arrival. Los Angeles used the trade exception it got in the Odom deal to make the Nash move work.

The 38-year-old Nash was a free agent, but a sign-and-trade agreement was necessary for the Lakers to afford him. He agreed to a three-year, $27 million contract. In return, the Suns get four draft picks — first-rounders in 2013 and 2015 and second-rounders in 2013 and 2014.

Nash’s agent, Bill Duffy, said the deal was completed Wednesday about 9 p.m., EDT.

In a statement released by Duffy, Nash said that after he and the Suns agreed to part ways, he went back to the team and asked it to pursue a sign-and-trade deal with Los Angeles “because it is very important to me to stay near my children and family,” who live in Phoenix.

“They were very apprehensive and didn’t want to do it,” Nash said. “Fortunately for me, they reconsidered. They saw that they were able to get assets for their team that will make them better, assets they would not have otherwise had, and it made sense for them to do a deal that helps their team get better.”

Pour a cup of tea, let it steep, and then take a sip as you ponder this fact: After water, tea is the most popular beverage in the world, with 15,000 cups drunk per second. Tea is everywhere — in our cafes, our kitchens, our offices, schools and stores — but how many of us really know the story of each leaf as it travels from field to cup?

The tea supply chain is a complex trade network with many different players. Each and every farmer, worker, exporter, importer, processor, auctioneer, buying agent, retailer, café worker and tea drinker in the chain played an important role in bringing you the world’s favorite beverage.

Historically, low market prices for tea have led to poor labor and living conditions for both tea garden workers and tea farmers at the beginning of this supply chain, encapsulating them in a cycle of poverty and hardship.  Fair Trade certification seeks to stop this cycle, giving tea garden farmers and workers in eleven different countries the chance to lift themselves out of poverty, improve their communities, and protect their environment.

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This impact was driven by businesses like Honest Tea, Runa, Choice Organic Teas, Rishi Tea, and Numi Tea, and supplemented by growing awareness and demand from U.S. consumers. In fact, the annual growth rate of tea imports from 2010 to 2011 increased by 21 percent, reaching imports of over two million pounds for the first time in Fair Trade USA’s history.

This increase in imports means more impact for the tea garden workers (on large farms) and tea farmers (in a cooperative) who work so hard to grow and harvest our tea.

Tea farmers and workers across Asia and Africa benefit most when U.S. consumers care about where their tea comes from. When you look for tea bearing the Fair Trade Certified label, you know that the people who produced it are paid fair prices and wages, work in safe conditions, and protect the environment. Fair Trade Certified tea gardens and farms also form committees or associations of workers who then democratically determine how to manage and use their community development premiums. Many choose to invest in things like healthcare, education, environmental conversation, community infrastructure, quality and productivity.

Take, for example, United Nilgiri Tea Estates Co. Ltd (UNTE), a Fair Trade Certified tea garden located in South India who has greatly benefited from Fair Trade. UNTE is comprised of four neighboring tea estates: Chamraj, Korakundah, Allada Valley and Devabetta. Historically, the living and working conditions of the laborers on remote tea estates were notoriously poor. However, Fair Trade has helped to change this story. Thanks to their Fair Trade premiums, UNTE is now able to help fund the higher education of laborers’ children and expose them to new career opportunities.

Chamraj, one of the four tea estates of UNTE, provides secondary education in both Tamil and English through age 18, to prepare students for college and university.  In addition, UNTE used their Fair Trade premiums to build local school lab facilities and eight new classroom multimedia centers.  UNTE also purchased buses to help ensure that children who live up to 30km away have the opportunity to attend school every day. Additionally, the salaries of two secondary teachers are partly paid with Fair Trade premium funds.

 Similar impact can be seen in Dazhangshan Organic Tea Farmer Association (DOTFA), situated in the Wuyuan Mountains of China. The Dazhangshan Organic Tea Farmer Association was also the first producer organization in China to gain Fair Trade certification. The group has over 5,400 member households; additionally, the number of female members has increased dramatically since the cooperative’s inception. Today, women make up almost 35 percent of the organization.

The association extends membership not only to farmers, but also to technicians and tea processors who handle the teas and prepare them for sale to buyers. DOTFA has democratically elected to use their Fair Trade community development premium funds for organic agriculture training and education; high school and university scholarships for children of farm workers, and building a new school with a library, computer lab and student dormitory.

important of trade

Trade in India

Although India has steadily opened up its economy, its tariffs go on to be high when compared with other countries, and its investment norms are still restrictive. This leads some to observe India as a ‘rapid globalizer’ while others still see it as a ‘greatly protectionist’ economy.

Till the early 1990s, India was a closed economy: average tariffs exceed 200 percent, quantitative restrictions on imports were extensive, and there were stringent restrictions on foreign investment. The country began to cautiously reform in the 1990s, liberalize only under conditions of extreme necessity. 

Since that time, trade reforms have fashioned remarkable results. India’s trade to GDP ratio has increased from 15 percent to 35 percent of GDP stuck between 1990 and 2005, and the economy is now among the fastest growing in the world.

Average non-agricultural tariffs have fallen below 15 percent, quantitative restrictions on imports have been eliminated, and foreign investments norms have been relaxed for a number of sectors.

India however retain its right to protect when need arises. Agricultural tariffs average between 30-40 percent, anti-dumping measures have been liberally used to protect trade, and the country is among the few in the world that continue to ban foreign asset in retail trade. Although this policy has been somewhat relaxed recently, it remains significantly restrictive.

Nonetheless, in recent years, the government’s stand on trade and investment policy has displayed a marked shift from protecting ‘producers’ to benefiting ‘consumers’. This is reflected in its Foreign Trade Policy for 2004/09 which states that, "For India to become a major player in world trade ...we have also to facilitate those imports which are necessary to stimulate our economy."

India and USA trade

India is now aggressively pushing for a more liberal comprehensive trade regime, especially in services. It has assumed a leadership role among developing nations in global trade negotiations, and played a critical part in the Doha negotiations.

This study finds that the competitiveness of India’s horticulture sector depends critically on efficient logistics, domestic competition, and the ability to comply with international health, safety and quality standards. The study is based on primary surveys across fifteen Indian States.

A third study, dealing with barriers to the movement of professionals is under preparation.

The Bank has also held a number of workshops and conferences with a view to providing different stakeholders with a forum to express their views on trade-related issues

The study concludes that to sustain the dynamism of India’s services sector, the country must address two critical challenges: externally, the problem of actual and potential protectionism; and domestically, the persistence of restrictions on trade and investment, as well as weaknesses in the regulatory environment.

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As a number of research institutions in the country provide the direction with good, just-in-time, and low-cost analytical advice on trade-related issues, the World Bank has focused on providing analysis on specialized subjects at the Government’s request.

In the last three years, the Bank has been working with the Ministry of trade in a participatory manner to help the country develop an informed strategy for domestic reform and international negotiations.

Given the sensitivity of trade policy and negotiation issues, the Bank’s role has been confined to providing better information and analysis than was previously obtainable to India’s policymakers.

India is an important trade partner for the EU and a growing worldwide, power. It combines a sizable and growing market of more than 1 billion people with a growth rate of between 8 and 10 % - one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Although it is far from the closed market that it was twenty years ago, India still also maintains substantial tariff and non-tariff barriers that hinder trade with the EU. The EU and India hope to increase their trade in both goods and services and investment through the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) discussions that they launched in 2007. Negotiations are expected to be concluded in early 2012.

In particular since the early 1990s, India has embarked on a process of economic reform and progressive integration with the global economy that aims to put it on a path of rapid and sustained growth. Per capita incomes more than doubled during the period 1990-2005. In parallel, EU-India trade has grown impressively and more than doubled from €28.6billion in 2003 to over €67.9 billion in 2010. EU investment to India has more than tripled since 2003 from €759million to €3 billion in 2010 and trade in commercial services has tripled from €5.2billion in 2002 to €17.9 billion in 2010. However, India's trade regime and regulatory environment still remain comparatively restrictive and in 2009 the World Bank downgraded the Indian rankto165 from 120 in 2008 (out of 183 economies) in terms of the 'ease of doing business'. In addition to tariff barriers to imports, India also imposes a number of non-tariff barriers in the form of quantitative restrictions, import licensing, mandatory testing and certification for a large number of products, as well as complicated and lengthy customs procedures.

In 2004 India became one of the EU's "strategic partners". Since 2005, the EU-India Joint Action Plan, revised in 2008, aims at realising the full potential of this partnership in key areas of interest to India and the EU.

The EU and India have in place an institutional framework, cascading down from the annual EU-India Summit, to a senior-official level Joint Committee, to the Sub-Commission on Trade and to working groups on technical issues such as technical barriers to trade (TBT), sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS), agricultural policy or industrial policy. These are the fora where a number of day-to-day issues, such as EU market access problems, are discussed 

o assist India in continuing its efforts to better integrate into the world economy with a view to further enhancing bilateral trade and investment ties, the EU is providing trade related technical assistance to India. €13.4million were allocated through the Trade and Investment Development Programme (TIDP) funded from the Country Strategy Paper (CSP) 2002-2006. At present, the follow-up programme to the TIDP is being designed and will be funded by the Country Strategy Paper 2007-2013.  

A successful conclusion of the Doha round would contribute significantly to a more open and stable environment for trade and investment for both the EU and India. India is also a major player in the DDA negotiations and, as a leader of the group of (advanced) developing countries known as the G20, has been one of the "G4", along with the EU, US and Brazil.

A free trade agreement with India offers great promise for New Zealand businesses. India is already one of our fastest growing markets, with New Zealand exports having tripled over the last decade” said Mr Groser.

New Zealand's exports to India were valued at NZ$630 million in 2009, a 280% increase on our 2001 exports to India and overall bilateral trade between India and New Zealand grew 180% between 2001 and 2009, from NZ$353 million to NZ$985 million. 

he British East India Company was an English and later (from 1707) British joint-stock companyformed for pursuing trade with the East Indies but which ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent.

The East India Company traded mainly in cotton, silk, indigo dye, salt, saltpetre, tea and opium. The Company was granted a Royal Charter in 1600, making it the oldest among several similarly formed European East India Companies. Shares of the company were owned by wealthy merchants and aristocrats. The government owned no shares and had only indirect control. The Company eventually came to rule large areas of India with its own private army, exercising military power and assuming administrative functions. Company rule in India effectively began in 1757 after the Battle of Plassey and lasted until 1858 when, following the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the Government of India Act 1858 led to the British Crown assuming direct control of India in the new British Raj.

India trade

The Company was dissolved in 1874 as a result of the East India Stock Dividend Redemption Act passed one year earlier, as the Government of India Act had by then rendered it vestigal, powerless and obsolete. Its functions had been fully absorbed into official government machinery in the British Raj and its private army had been nationalized by the British Crown. In the modern era, its history is strongly associated with corporate abuse, colonialism, exploitation, and monopoly power.

his time they succeeded, and on 31 December 1600, the Queen granted a Royal Charter to "George, Earl of Cumberland, and 215 Knights, Aldermen, and Burgesses" under the name, Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading with the East Indies. For a period of fifteen years the charter awarded the newly formed company a monopoly on trade with all countries east of the Cape of Good Hope and west of the Straits of Magellan. Sir James Lancaster commanded the first East India Company voyage in 1601.

Initially, the Company struggled in the spice trade due to the competition from the already well established Dutch East India Company. The Company opened a factory in Bantam on the first voyage and imports of pepper from Java were an important part of the Company's trade for twenty years. The factory in Bantam was closed in 1683. During this time ships belonging to the company arriving in India docked at Surat, which was established as a trade transit point in 1608.

In the next two years, the Company built its first factory in south India in the town of Machilipatnam on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. The high profits reported by the Company after landing in India initially prompted King James I to grant subsidiary licenses to other trading companies in England. But in 1609 he renewed the charter given to the Company for an indefinite period, including a clause which specified that the charter would cease to be in force if the trade turned unprofitable for three consecutive years.

The Company was led by one Governor and 24 directors, who made up the Court of Directors. They, in turn, reported to the Court of Proprietors which appointed them. Ten committees reported to the Court of Directors.

India trade