Goyal Goes Bargaining

THE TAKE

Indian Trade Minister’s US Visit A Good Sign, Even If It Achieves Little

India’s simple average tariff rate stands at around 17% against 3.3% of the US. India has said that there are only a few products in the high tariff range between 25% and 150%. Though, some visible products like cars and even alcohol fall into this category. 

A top finance ministry official said recently that India had significantly reduced its average customs duty rate to 10.66% from 11.65% and is now moving towards the same levels as prevalent in the Southeast Asian countries. Is that really true? 

Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in the US for a two-day visit, which was scheduled at fairly short notice. The meeting seems to have had limited success on the issue of tariffs.

Trump greeted Modi at the White House with what Time Magazine called a bear hug two weeks ago and called him “a great friend of mine,” but also warned that India won’t be spared from higher tariffs he’s begun imposing on US trade partners around the world.

“Whatever India charges, we charge them,” Trump said at a joint news conference. “So, frankly, it no longer matters to us that much what they charge.”

The Indian finance ministry official who said very few products fell in the 25% to 150% duty range also added that duties on most products were actually in the narrow band of zero to 10%. 

Another official said the duty on the top 30 items imported from the US — including crude oil, LNG, coal, diamonds, and aeroplanes — ranges from only 0 to 7.5%. 

All this, of course, is not making much of a dent where it should.

A Rushed US Visit

Now India’s trade minister Piyush Goyal is en route to the US to negotiate a deal, if he can.

Goyal's visit was sudden as he departed after cancelling previously scheduled meetings until March 8, officials told Reuters.

The good news is that India’s ministers and officials are hitting the road because that is the only option now. 

Even if little were to come out of this, India needs to show and be seen to be willing to sit down at the negotiating table. 

This is obviously a good signal to both international and domestic audiences, particularly in trade and business. 

Hopefully, this spirit of outreach will extend further domestically as well.

THE MEDIA ROOM

Contrary To Popular Belief, The Radio Is 'Alive And Kicking' 

How many of you still tune in to the radio on the way to work, while working or maybe during leisure? First launched in India in 1923, the radio was perhaps the only form of entertainment device at the time. It gained relevance over the decades and became a source of listening to music, news and other cultural programmes. 

With the advent of cable TV in India and now digital media, the options to find your entertainment are ample, giving rise to the popular belief that the radio is not relevant anymore. Yatish Mehrishi, chief executive officer for Entertainment Network India Limited, that owns Mirchi, India's largest radio brand, told media specialist and author Vanita Kohli-Khandekar that this couldn't be further from the truth. 

"It's not that people are not listening, habits are changing," Mehrishi said in the latest episode of The Media Room, and added, "It is still the last mile consumption medium. You go anywhere, you're still listening to that. That's the last mile advertising medium." 

Mehrishi elaborated that in a digital world, radio was definitely fighting a battle with screens such as the phone, tablet or television.

Shrikant Shenoy, associate vice president at the Interpublic Group, said radio continues to be an "important part of the mix for our advertisers". 

"It is still the last mile consumption medium. You go anywhere, you're still listening to that. That's the last mile advertising medium," Shenoy said. 

What are the biggest challenges that India's radio industry must overcome in the near future?

👥 THE TEAM

✍️ Zinal Dedhia, Salman SH | ✂️ Rohini Chatterji | 🎧 Joshua Thomas