Trade is important for maintaining a competitive global economy because it
stimulates invention and promotes marketplaces to become more specialised.
The ability to trade also allows standard of living that may be of higher quality
and less expensive than their domestic counterpart. In some cases, there may be
no domestic alternative, in which case trade can provide a resource that would
otherwise be unavailable. The WTO's goal is to reduce the barriers that prevent
countries from trading productively and sufficiently. This is accomplished
through the development of agreements that serve as the foundation of the
WTO's multilateral trading system and allow for conflict resolution, as they are
agreements that provide clarity, stability, and trade rights guarantees. There is
also a structured dispute resolution procedure.
A free trade agreement (FTA) is an agreement reached between countries or regional groups
to reduce or eliminate trade barriers through mutual negotiations with the goal of increasing
trade. However, it can be broad enough to include goods, services, investment, intellectual
property, competition, government procurement, and other areas. Customs duties or tariffs,
rules of origin, non-tariff measures such as technical barriers to trade (TBT), sanitary
phytosanitary (SPS) measures, trade remedies, and so on are among the key areas covered in
the context of goods. Negotiations on services are focusing on barriers to various modes of
supply, such as domestic regulations.
In the Indian export and import trade A cape size vessel berthed inside the V O Chidambaranar Port at Tuticorin for the first time in its history.
The first Cape Size vessel, ‘MV Cape Breeze,’ with a length of 292 metres, a breadth of 45.05 metres, and a DWT of 1,80,000 tonnes, arrived at the port on May 26, 2022.
The cape-size vessel arrived at Berth-9 with 92,300 Tonnes of Lime Stone
consigned from the Port of Salalah, Oman, and an arrival draught of 11.4
Metres. M/s. Eastern Bulk Trading & Shipping Private Limited will receive the
entire import of Lime Stone and Gypsum. Sea Port Logistics P Ltd. is the
stevedore for the aforementioned vessel, and Seaport Shipping Pvt Ltd. is the
steamer agent.
According to Shri T.K. Ramachandran, IAS, Chiarman, V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority, “the benefit of economies of scale by handling large vessels will greatly benefit the trade by lowering freight costs and making EXIM trade competitive globally.” I’d like to commend the hard work and dedication of the V.O. Chidambaranar Port’s Ship Agents, Stevedores, Harbour Mobile Crane & Conveyor Operator, Officers and Staff of the Traffic & Marine Departments on reaching this significant milestone.
VOC Port handles a diverse range of cargoes, including coal, containers,
limestone, gypsum, windmill blades and accessories, machinery, fertilisers, and
food grains. VOC Port is the most preferred Port in South India due to its cost-
effective services, excellent hinterland connectivity, cutting-edge infrastructure,
enterprising Port user community, and capacity augmentation projects.
