Trump again goes after India, says it slaps 'big tariffs' on US products

President Donald Trump has criticised India's "big tariffs" on American paper products and the iconic Harley-Davidson bikes, saying the US has been losing billions of dollars to countries like India, China and Japan.

Addressing a Republican political rally in Wisconsin state's Green Bay city on Sunday, Trump alleged that every country has been ripping off America for years.

The President has repeatedly claimed that India is a "tariff king" and imposes "tremendously high" tariffs on American products.

"For so many decades we've been losing tens of billions of dollars to China and Japan, and India, and name any country and we lost, but we're not losing anymore," he said to his cheering supporters.

He said that the US was being charged high tariffs on foreign paper products.

"We charge other countries zero tariffs on foreign paper products, but when Wisconsin paper companies export it abroad... China charged us big tariffs, India charged us big tariffs, Vietnam charge us massive tariffs," Trump said.

He claimed that people of the US demanded a government that puts America first.

"And we're doing that with China, we're doing that with India, we're doing that with Japan, we're doing it with a great new trade deal, that hopefully will get approved in the house," the President said.

Early this year at a White House event to announce his support for reciprocal tax, Trump had said that he was satisfied with the Indian decision to reduce the import tariff on high-end Harley-Davidson motorcycles from 100 per cent to 50 per cent.

The President said that he called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of tariffs on Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

"Look at Harley-Davidson. I met with them three years ago, they would tell me tough to do business in certain kind. I asked 'How you're doing in India?' and they said, 'Oh, we don't do any business'. They weren't even complaining because so many years.

"So India charged a 100 per cent tariff on Harley-Davidson, but when they send their motorcycles and they may come to us, we charge them nothing," Trump said.

"So I called up Prime Minister Modi, I said unfair, he cut it 50 per cent... But that's not good enough because look, it's 50 per cent to nothing. And what we're doing is changing all of that stuff, changing all of that rapidly," he added.

India is pressing for exemption from the high duty imposed by the US on certain steel and aluminium products, resumption of export benefits to certain domestic products under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme, greater market access for its products from agriculture, automobile, automobile components and engineering sectors.

On the other hand, the US is demanding greater market access through a cut in import duties for its agriculture goods, dairy products, medical devices, IT and communication items. India has stated that it would be difficult for them to cut duties on IT products.

India's exports to the US in 2017-18 stood at USD 47.9 billion, while imports were USD 26.7 billion. The trade balance is in favour of India.

Govt notifies new accounting standard, lease rule to impact airlines

The government has notified a new accounting standard Ind AS 116 that will bring in more transparency in recognition and disclosures about leases in companies' balance sheets, a senior official said Sunday.

The Indian Accounting Standard (Ind AS) 116 is expected to have a significant impact on various industries, including aviation where airlines mostly operate planes on lease.

Ind AS 116 -- to be effective from April 1 -- sets out the principles for recognition, presentation and disclosure of leases.

It has been notified by the corporate affairs ministry.

The official said the standard will help in ensuring more transparency when it comes to recognition of leases by companies and also prevent "window dressing" of accounts.

"Lessors will need to re-look at their accounting policy of recognising lease income on transition to Ind AS 116 and it may have significant impact on ongoing recognition and measurement of rental income in the financial statements," Sandip Khetan said.

Khetan is National Leader and Partner (Financial Accounting Advisory Services) at consultancy EY India.

Leasing of aircraft rather than outright purchase is a common practice in the airlines industry worldwide. With the Ind AS 116 in place, the carriers would have to show all such leases on their respective balance sheets.

Ind AS 116 is the equivalent of IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) 116.

If you are an H-1B visa holder, switching jobs in the US just got tougher

It is getting tougher for H-1B visa holders in the US to switch jobs even if the new job is similar to the old and requires the same exact skill sets.

According to a report in Times of India, the US citizenship and Immigration Services ( USCIS) has denied several applications by the new employer by citing that the new position does not constitute a 'specialty occupation.' Moreover, if the H-1B holders starts working elsewhere and the transfer is denied, the person could be 'out of status' with a bar on entry into the US for three to ten years, unless the old employer is willing to take back the worker.

“Typically, there is no grace period if the H-1B status has already expired by the time the denial intimation is received. If, however, there is time remaining on the original H-1B approval with the old employer, the beneficiary will have a 60-day grace period or the time remaining on the original approval, whichever is," Times of India quoted Rajiv S Khanna, managing attorney at Immigration.com, as saying.

So what exactly is a specialty occupation? H-1B visas are granted to persons trained and employed in specialty occupations. Many of the 'Requests for Evidence' received by over 25% of H-1B petitions involve the question as to whether or not the position meets the criteria of a specialty occupation.

The Code of Federal Regulation says a specialty occupation requires 'Theoretical and practical application of a highly specialized body of knowledge,and attainment of a bachelor’s or higher degree in a specific specialty as a minimum for entry into the occupation'. Examples include those professions involving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics or STEM.

The US tech sector predominately hires H-1B workers and a large chunk are from India.However, according to a recent analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy, the denial rate for applicants who are trying to extend their visas grew from 4 percent in 2016 to 12 percent in 2018. ( Read more here) 

Moreover, more than half of the H-1B cases nowadays are stalled by 'requests for evidence', or RFEs, a complicated request for additional documents that can take months to resolve and often end in denials. ( Read more here)

Another study by VisaGuide.world found that the US immigration agency officials are more likely to issue a Request for Evidence (RFE) to Indian H1B visa applicants than to people from other countries, Business Standard reported on Sunday.

According to the data collected by the web portal, 72.4 per cent of Indian applicants and 61.2 per cent of applicants from the rest of the world received an RFE.

In 2018, 309,986 applications for H1B visa, or 73.9 per cent of the total H1B applications for the year, were from India.

The H1B work visa has been the preferred visa for Indian IT companies and has helped them keep costs down and gain a margin advantage over multinational players by sending engineers to the US. However, IT services firms have been accused of misusing the lottery-based system, which allows 65,000 visas for the general category and an additional 20,000 to those with a US Master’s degree from an accredited institution.

The portal expects Indians to continue to account for the highest number of applicants this year and the number of women applicants to increase because of the risks for H4 visa holders. A number of potential H4 visa holders may turn to the H1B visa programme, as a way to join their spouses working in the US, it said.

Vistara may induct some of Jet's Boeing 737s planes and its pilots

The Singapore Airlines-Tata joint venture Vistara is likely to induct some of Jet Airways' Boeing 737s in its fleet and may offer jobs to a few B737 pilots of the crisis-ridden airline, reports said on Sunday. The airline is also conducting a walk-in interview for cabin crew on 29 and 30 April in Mumbai and Gurgaon, which will attract applications from Jet Airways' employees.

Vistara currently has Airbus A320 in its narrow-body fleet and for wide-body, the airline has placed an order for six Boeing 787 Dreamliner 787-9. These aircraft will primarily be used for long-haul routes and are expected to arrive by 2020.

Commenting on the same, the Tata Sons-Singapore Airlines joint venture airline told TOI “The recent reduction in capacity has inconvenienced travellers, especially in the full-service segment. We will continue to grow our network to meet market demand."

Jet Airways, on April 16, announced that it will suspend all operations, domestic and international, with immediate effect.

If Vistara inducts B737s, it will be the second Indian airline, after Air India, to have a mixed fleet of narrow-body Boeing and Airbus aircraft. Vistara could also get more slots at the constrained Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore airports after Jet's suspension freed up slots there.

Jet's grounding has also had a big impact on air fares with inter-city air fares to major cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata soaring more than 20 per cent in May and June, according to Yatra.com.

The spike in fares is expected to underpin strong earnings for IndiGo and SpiceJet Ltd, which are set to report results for the quarter ended March 31 in the coming weeks.

"Domestic Indian carriers are the main benefactors, but I suspect if Jet fails to be revived by May 10 then Vistara and other airlines that ply international routes, particularly the lucrative Gulf market, are the main winners," Shukor Yusof, the head of aviation consultancy Endau Analytics was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Etihad to offer wireless streaming, remove screens from narrow-body fleet

Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways will offer wirelessly streamed movies and television shows to passengers on mainly short-haul flights as it removes entertainment screens from its Airbus A320 narrow-body fleet.

The airline, which is embarking on a turnaround strategy after years of heavy losses, announced a new economy-class product for its 23 A320 jets on Sunday.

Passengers will be encouraged to connect their personal devices to an onboard streaming service that does not rely on internet satellite to watch entertainment content.

All 23 A320s are expected to be refitted by August, the airline said, while a senior executive said the removal of screens would save the airline 18 tonnes in weight a year.

The weight reduction will mean aircraft use less fuel, a major operating cost for all carriers.

The A320s are mainly used on short-haul regional flights but also to cities within five hours' flying of Abu Dhabi, Etihad said.

The airline has downsized its growth ambitions and is focusing on point-to-point traffic.

Five jailed Catalan separatists elected to parliament in Spain elections

Five jailed Catalan separatists were elected in Spanish elections on Sunday, as their parties made gains in snap polls won by the socialists and also marked by the emergence of the far-right.

The northeastern region's former vice-president Oriol Junqueras, who along with then Catalan president Carles Puigdemont instigated a secession attempt in 2017, was one of those elected to the lower house.

He led the list of his ERC separatist party.

Others include civic leader Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Turull, Catalonia's government spokesman at the time of the attempt to break from Spain in October 2017.

Both were candidates for Together for Catalonia, the party of Puigdemont, who fled Spain and avoided arrest.

Josep Rull, also part of Catalonia's regional government at that time, was also elected to the lower house.

Raul Romeva, in charge of Catalonia's foreign affairs at the time of the secession bid, was elected to the Senate.

All are in jail and are currently being tried at Spain's Supreme Court.

The elections saw Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's socialists win, but without the necessary majority to govern solo in a fragmented political landscape marked by the far-right's entry into parliament.

Where politicians invest: Mutual funds, RIL, and even Kingfisher Airlines

Fixed deposits and tax-free bonds seem to be among the most favoured financial investments for the political leaders fighting the Lok Sabha polls, while mutual funds and stocks also adorn the portfolios of many and some even have got shares of long-defunct firms like Kingfisher Airlines.

Shares of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), the country’s most valued company with a market capitalistion of over Rs 8.82 trillion, can be found in the portfolios of several leaders, while stocks and mutual fund units of the firms from younger brother Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group are also a common sight, as per disclosures made in election affidavits of the contestants.

However, some top leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi have no stock market or mutual fund exposure at all and their financial savings are limited to deposits in banks, tax-free bonds, insurance policies and instruments like National Savings Certificate.

The direct equity investments for a few are limited to unlisted companies, including those owned by their families.

BJP President Amit Shah has disclosed a long list of listed and unlisted shares in his name and in the name of his spouse. The listed shares in his name, totalling over Rs 17.5 crore, include companies from Aditya Birla Group, Bajaj, L&T, Tata and both Reliance groups, as also several PSUs.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has disclosed equity holding in Young Indian and investments in several mutual funds. The portfolio of his mother and senior party leader Sonia Gandhi includes equity shares of Young Indian and Maruti Technical Services Pvt Ltd and mutual fund units of HDFC, Kotak, Motilal Oswal and Reliance MF.

Nationalist Congress Party’s Supriya Sule, daughter of veteran leader Sharad Pawar, has got unlisted shares worth over Rs 1 crore and listed shares worth over Rs 6 crore, besides some mutual funds. The listed shares include those of Adani Group firms, the two Reliance groups, several Tata firms and even Kingfisher Airlines as also of some other companies from the erstwhile UB Group, including United Spirits which was sold by defaulter businessman Vijay Mallya to global liquor giant Diageo Plc. Kingfisher shares have long been delisted from the stock exchanges, though they quoted at above Rs 300 apiece once. The stocks eventually slipped below Rs 1 and trading was eventually suspended in 2014-end after mounting troubles for the erstwhile luxury airline had led to its closure.

Union minister and BJP candidate from Nagpur Nitin Gadkari has equity shares of Purti Power and Sugar Ltd, among other investments.

Poonam Mahajan, BJP candidate from Mumbai North Central, has disclosed listed equity investments by her spouse in Kingfisher Airlines, as also in Reliance Industries, TCS, Vodafone Idea Cellular and Reliance Power. Her Congress rival Priya Dutt has listed several mutual fund and portfolio schemes totalling about Rs 14.92 crore, while the listed shares disclosed in the name of her spouse include Reliance Industries, Reliance Infra and Reliance Power. Congress candidate from Mumbai South, Murli Deora, has disclosed multiple bonds, structured market products, PMS account, mutual funds and FMPs (fixed maturity plans).

Actress-turned-politician Urmila Matondkar, Congress candidate from Mumbai North, has disclosed Rs 28.28 crore worth investment in shares, bonds and mutual funds and PMS (portfolio management service) investments worth about Rs 6 crore, but the individual stocks/units were not disclosed.

Jaya Prada, another former actress and the BJP candidate from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh, has also disclosed investments in some listed companies such as Energy Development Company Ltd (which has got her political mentor Amar Singh as a promoter), Coal India, HDFC Bank, ITC, MCX and Reliance Industries. Actor-politician Raj Babbar, the Congress candidate from Fatehpur Sikri, has investments in IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd.

Among other Uttar Pradesh candidates, Union minister and BJP leader Satyapal Singh has disclosed investments worth Rs 1.5 lakh in mutual funds and bonds in his name and some equity shares held by his spouse including of Reliance Capital and Reliance Industries.

Another union minister V K Singh and his spouse have also invested in various mutual funds.