Category: international trade
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From Globalisation to Conditional Integration: The New Architecture of Global Trade
The Historical Arc of Globalisation Globalisation once operated on a remarkably simple logic—price signals, comparative advantage, and supply-chain optimisation shaped the movement of goods, capital, and technology. From the early 1990s to around 2015, the world experienced a phase of hyper-globalisation, driven by China’s WTO entry, the rise of global…
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Who Is the Real Winner in Rule-Based Trade in the World?
The Promise and Paradox of Rule-Based Trade The global rule-based trading system—anchored in the World Trade Organization and a web of bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs)—was designed to create predictability, fairness, and equal opportunity. Yet, history shows that rules rarely benefit all countries equally. The real winner is…
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A World Becoming Smaller—But Not Closer
Over the past four decades, the world has become smaller in terms of communication, transportation, and information exchange. Digital platforms compress distances; logistics networks deliver goods overnight; and technologies such as AI and blockchain make cross-border collaboration seamless. However, paradoxically, global trade is becoming more distant, fragmented, and politically conditioned.…
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The Truth About the India–USA Trade Deal: What Really Happened and What It Really Means
Despite dramatic headlines and political messaging, India and the United States still do not have a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as of February 2026. What was announced between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not an FTA but a “limited trade understanding”—a narrow, transactional arrangement designed to…
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India’s External Sector: Playing the Long Game in a Fragmenting World
India’s external sector in 2025–26 stands at a moment where history, geopolitics, and technology intersect. The world economy is moving away from hyper-globalisation toward fragmented blocs, supply-chain realignments, industrial subsidies and weaponised trade policy. Chapter 4 of the Indian Economic Survey 2025-26, titled External Sector: Playing the Long Game, captures…
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The Final EU–India FTA: A Historic Breakthrough and Its Deep Impact on India’s MSMEs
When India and the European Union formally announced the conclusion of their Free Trade Agreement at the 16th India-EU Summit in New Delhi, the moment marked the end of a negotiation marathon that began almost two decades ago. Now widely described as the “mother of all deals,” the pact connects…
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The EU–India FTA: Why the “Mother of All Deals” Could Redraw Global Trade Geography
When Ursula von der Leyen called the upcoming EU–India Free Trade Agreement the “mother of all deals” at Davos, it was not diplomatic exaggeration. It was a recognition that this potential agreement—linking nearly two billion people and close to one-fourth of global GDP—could structurally shift the direction of global trade,…
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Mindset Shift: Resilience Before Growth
The global business landscape is undergoing a quiet but profound reset. Across sectors—from small manufacturers and trader networks to tech-enabled micro-enterprises and service providers—the dominant sentiment is no longer “How fast can we grow?” but “How long can we survive shocks?” This shift is not temporary; it is structural. Firms…
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