India and the EU yesterday resumed talks on a free-trade deal after a nine-year gap, as Western countries seek to wean New Delhi off its close economic ties to Russia.
Dubbed the “tariff king” by former US president Donald Trump, India has become more open to lowering trade barriers in recent years and is negotiating pacts with several other countries.
The Asian giant has refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, even increasing oil purchases from its long-standing strategic ally and biggest supplier of arms.
Photo: Reuters
The EU is India’s second-biggest trading partner after the US, but talks with the bloc broke down in 2013 over issues including tariff reductions and patent protection.
Merchandise trade hit an all-time high of US$116 billion in 2021-2022, with India’s exports to the 27-member EU hitting US$65 billion, according to New Delhi.
“Both sides are aiming for the trade negotiations to be broad-based, balanced and comprehensive, based on the principles of fairness and reciprocity. There will also be discussions on resolving the market access issues which are impeding bilateral trade,” the Indian Ministry of Commerce said earlier this month when announcing the first round of talks in New Delhi, which were due to run until Friday.
India in February signed a major economic partnership agreement with the United Arab Emirates and in April agreed an interim free-trade deal with Australia, aiming to finish off a full pact by the end of the year.
India is also in trade negotiations with Canada, Israel and the UK. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on a visit in April that the UK and India hoped to nail down an accord by October.
With this year’s Semicon Taiwan trade show set to kick off on Wednesday, market attention has turned to the mass production of advanced packaging technologies and capacity expansion in Taiwan and the US. With traditional scaling reaching physical limits, heterogeneous integration and packaging technologies have emerged as key solutions. Surging demand for artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC) and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips has put technologies such as chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS), integrated fan-out (InFO), system on integrated chips (SoIC), 3D IC and fan-out panel-level packaging (FOPLP) at the center of semiconductor innovation, making them a major focus at this year’s trade show, according
DEBUT: The trade show is to feature 17 national pavilions, a new high for the event, including from Canada, Costa Rica, Lithuania, Sweden and Vietnam for the first time The Semicon Taiwan trade show, which opens on Wednesday, is expected to see a new high in the number of exhibitors and visitors from around the world, said its organizer, SEMI, which has described the annual event as the “Olympics of the semiconductor industry.” SEMI, which represents companies in the electronics manufacturing and design supply chain, and touts the annual exhibition as the most influential semiconductor trade show in the world, said more than 1,200 enterprises from 56 countries are to showcase their innovations across more than 4,100 booths, and that the event could attract 100,000 visitors. This year’s event features 17
Germany is to establish its first-ever national pavilion at Semicon Taiwan, which starts tomorrow in Taipei, as the country looks to raise its profile and deepen semiconductor ties with Taiwan as global chip demand accelerates. Martin Mayer, a semiconductor investment expert at Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI), Germany’s international economic promotion agency, said before leaving for Taiwan that the nation is a crucial partner in developing Germany’s semiconductor ecosystem. Germany’s debut at the international semiconductor exhibition in Taipei aims to “show presence” and signal its commitment to semiconductors, while building trust with Taiwanese companies, government and industry associations, he said. “The best outcome
Semiconductor equipment billings in Taiwan are expected to double this year, as manufacturers in the industry are keen to expand production to meet strong global demand for artificial intelligence applications, according to SEMI, which represents companies in the electronics manufacturing and design supply chain. Speaking at a news conference before the opening of Semicon Taiwan trade show tomorrow, SEMI director of industry research and statistics Clark Tseng (曾瑞榆) said semiconductor equipment billings in Taiwan are expected to grow by an annual 100 percent this year, beating an earlier estimate of 70 percent growth. He said that Taiwan received a boost from a
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