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With July 9 deadline near, stock markets shrug off US tariff worries
Sundar Sethuraman Samie Modak Mumbai
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Domestic stock markets are holding firm even as the July 9 deadline approaches for the new US tariff rates — ranging from 10 per cent to 50 per cent — announced by US President Donald Trump on April 2.
The tariffs, paused for 90 days to allow for bilateral trade negotiations, have sparked cautious optimism among investors who foresee an extension or a favourable US-India trade deal.
The benchmark Nifty 50 index last ended at 25,542, less than 3 per cent below its record closing of 26,179 on September 27, 2024. From this year's low of 22,162 on April 7,

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India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Not acceptable: Top Trump aide accuses India of financing Russia's war in Ukraine
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The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Another slip up by India in the trade pact with the U.K.
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A coalition of developing countries, including India earned the right to issue compulsory licences through the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health in 2001, despite strident opposition from advanced countries. The Declaration emphasised, 'each Member has the right to grant compulsory licences and the freedom to determine the grounds upon which such licences are granted' ( Voluntary licences cannot ensure access to affordable medicines due to the weak bargaining position of domestic companies in developing countries vis-à-vis dominant pharmaceutical corporations. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), a medical humanitarian organisation, observed that using the terms of voluntary licences, pharmaceutical corporations can set various limitations, including to control the supply of active pharmaceutical ingredients, besides imposing restrictions on licensees. Therefore, options for getting affordable access are compromised when voluntary licences are used ( The MSF's observations were proven when Cipla produced the anti-COVID drug, remdesivir, in India under a voluntary licence from Gilead Sciences, the owner of the patent on the medicine. The price of remdesivir fixed by Cipla for India was, in purchasing power terms, higher than that Gilead had charged in the United States. COMMENT | The India-U.K. FTA spells a poor deal for public health India's demand will be affected The CETA undermines India's demand for technology transfer 'on favourable terms' in several multilateral forums. This demand was first made through the United Nations General Assembly Resolution on the New International Economic Order (NIEO) in 1974. A key aspect of the NIEO was the call for facilitated technology transfer from advanced to developing countries to promote the industrialisation efforts of the developing countries ( However, despite their best efforts, little progress was seen regarding technology transfer. The disappointment of developing countries was reflected in India's Fourth Biennial Update Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2024: 'Despite substantial national efforts and investments, barriers like slow international technology transfer and intellectual property rights (IPR) hinder the rapid adoption of [climate friendly] technologies' ( As India has compromised its long-held position that technology transfer to developing countries must be on 'favourable terms', its demand for climate-friendly technologies from advanced countries could lose its sting. Biswajit Dhar is former Professor of Economics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University. K.M. Gopakumar is Senior Researcher and Legal Adviser, Third World Network


Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
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