China and Australia have been facing deadlock in a trade since last year ….reports Asian Lite News
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Saturday said that new Chinese wine tariffs set to last for five years were “not ok” and deemed them as retaliation for Canberra standing up for its values.
The measures, which are set to take effect on Sunday, were described as anti-dumping duties by China in a Commerce Ministry announcement, dpa news agency reported.
Beijing and Canberra have been locked in a trade dispute that escalated last year and saw China hit wine, beef, barley and coal with trade tariffs and customs delays.
XI CHINA
Morrison pointed to Australia’s stance against the treatment of the Uighur Muslim minority in China as a reason for the latest move, in comments reported by Australian news agency AAP.
China this week slapped sanctions on British entities and individuals after the UK made a similar move, citing human rights concerns over internment camps in Xinjiang that are estimated to have held more than 1 million people since 2017.
Beijing says they are “vocational education centres”.
The UK’s action followed similar measures put in place by Canada, the European Union and the US.
Meanwhile, Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan said the tariffs of between 116 and 218 per cent make it “basically impossible” for the country’s wine to compete in the Chinese market.
He said he had spoken to Australian wine industry leaders and was considering going to the World Trade Organization with the issue.
China is Australia’s largest trading partner.
In 2018-2019, China bought around 26 per cent of exports, valued at A$235 billion.
An initial ₤800m commitment from Mubadala to invest in UK life sciences over five years is the first focus for the SIP, reports Asian Lite News.
Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company — world’s leading sovereign investors, and the Department for International Trade and the Prime Minister’s Office’s have established an UK Office for Investment.
An initial ₤800m commitment from Mubadala to invest in UK life sciences over five years is the first focus for the SIP. The sum will be deployed alongside the UK’s ₤200m Life Sciences Investment Programme announced last year. This will act as a pool to enable more UK life sciences businesses to scale and grow. The OfI and Mubadala will work together to identify commercially viable opportunities for investment into the sector.
This is the first agreement of its kind for the UK and the Office for Investment and will deepen existing UK-UAE trade and investment ties that were worth ₤32 billion in 2019.
The UAE-UK Sovereign Investment Partnership (SIP) will serve as a coordinated investment framework to grow a future-focused relationship between the two nations, driving economic recovery, jobs and growth.
Combined, these funds will provide much needed stable investment into the next generation of life science companies around the country. The industry, which generates ₤80 billion turnover a year within the UK and employs more than 250,000 people, is expected to benefit from stronger links in life sciences research, education and closer ties between the UAE and UK.
Over a five-year period, the SIP will invest across several tech and innovation-led sectors such as energy transition and infrastructure that will support job creation in both nations, strengthen national research and development capabilities and develop new areas of investment collaboration.
Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Managing Director and Group CEO of Mubadala commented, “The UAE and UK are aligned on the importance of global action on critical priorities such as healthcare innovation and delivery, climate change and the sustainable growth of high-skilled industries.
“Coordination on investment and global innovation ecosystems is vital to enabling progress against these challenges and presents a significant post-COVID economic opportunity for the UK and UAE.
“Mubadala is already a long-term investor in UK innovation and growth, and our new partnership now provides a platform to allocate stable capital to priority sectors as part of a future-focused investment relationship.”
UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said, “The UAE is an important trading partner for the UK and home to some of the world’s largest and most experienced investment companies. It’s fantastic that we are collaborating more closely in the industries of tomorrow like science, tech and green growth, so we can build back better and deliver an investment-led, jobs-led recovery from coronavirus.
“This is a major win for the Office for Investment and shows how the UK is an investment destination of choice. From Liverpool and Edinburgh to Oxford and Nottingham, our world class life sciences clusters and innovative businesses will see the benefits of this partnership.”
Gerry Grimstone, UK Minister for Investment said, “This partnership will enable the UK life sciences sector to develop cutting-edge technologies and research while retaining homegrown innovation and jobs. It will also leverage the UK and UAE’s mutual priorities in building better and stronger economies through investment.
“Attracting and enabling strategic international investors to operate effectively in the UK is vital to job creation and our growth as a world leader in life sciences, clean growth, tech and innovation. Mubadala is exactly the calibre of investor that we want to partner with to enable vital pillars of our economy to advance.”
Mubadala will also connect UK industries to research and innovation initiatives across its global portfolio spanning more than 50 countries, which has a major focus on innovation and technology-led sectors, including composite manufacturing, semiconductors, renewable energy, biotech and urban mobility. The UAE-UK partnership will build on the investment model Mubadala has established in other geographies.
The SIP’s inaugural life sciences investments are expected to complete later this year.
Sisodia added the new policy will also ensure equitable distribution of liquor across the national capital….reports Asian Lite News.
The Delhi Excise Department said on Monday that it lodged 1,864 FIRs against illegal liquor traders across the city besides recovering over seven lakh bottles of illicit liquor in the last two years.
Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, who also holds the finance portfolio, said the Excise Department has arrested around 2,000 people involved in illegal liquor trade in the national capital during the same period.
Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia announced lowering of legal age to drink liquor in the national capital to 21 from 25 during a press conference at Secretariat in New Delhi, India, on Monday, March 22, 2021 (Pallav Paliwal)
Talking about Delhi government’s upcoming excise policy, Sisodia told the media that the new policy is aimed at doing away with liquor mafia, besides shoring up its revenue share by up to 20 per cent in a year.
“As per the government’s record, there are around 850 registered liquor shops but people say that more than 2,000 liquor shops are run by the liquor mafias in Delhi. To curb all these irregularities and to fight the liquor mafia, we have come up with this new excise policy,” Sisodia added.
“The liquor shop owners will have to ensure law and order outside the shops. If needed, they can take the help of the police or security guards, but ensuring law and order will be the responsibility of the liquor shop owners. The new policy will stop bootlegging and illicit liquor sale,” he said.
Sisodia added the new policy will also ensure equitable distribution of liquor across the national capital.
“We have decided to set up an international standard check-up system through which we will keep a watch on low-quality liquors and stop their distribution. An international quality lab will be set up to test the quality of liquor coming into the city,” the Deputy CM said.
