18 June 2024 Punjab Khabarnama : A near 60 times jump in silver imports during the last financial year from United Arab Emirates (UAE) is unusual since the West Asian country does not produce silver and the import jump may be indicative of a breach in rule of origin finalised by India and UAE under the free trade agreement that came into force in May 2022, a report by think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).
The think tank headed by former trade officer Ajay Srivastava said that Silver imports from the UAE increased by 5.853 per cent, from $29.2 million in FY23 to $1.74 billion in FY24, due to India charging an 8 per cent duty under UAE trade deal versus a 15 per cent Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) tariff on imports from other countries.
