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China agrees in principle to resume trade via India’s HP state border

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China agrees in principle to resume trade via India’s HP state border



China has agreed in principle to reopen the Shipki-La pass in Himachal Pradesh’s (HP) Kinnaur district for cross-border trade, the Indian state’s government recently said.

The trade route had been suspended in 2020 following the COVID-19 outbreak.

China agreed in principle to reopen the Shipki-La pass in Himachal Pradesh’s (HP) Kinnaur district for cross-border trade with India during the recent visit of Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, the HP government recently said.
The trade route had been suspended in 2020 following the COVID-19 outbreak.
The state would now approach the central commerce ministry for completing the codal formalities.

Indian external affairs minister S Jaishankar informed state chief minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu that New Delhi had opened discussions with Beijing for restoring border trade through all three designated points—Shipki-La in Himachal Pradesh, Lipulekh in Uttarakhand and Nathu La in Sikkim, a news agency reported.

“The Himachal government’s consistent efforts to resume trade with China through Shipki-La (Kinnaur) have yielded encouraging results. The government of China has agreed in principle to the proposal during the recent visit of Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi to India,” the statement from the state government said.

The chief minister had written to the Indian government urging revival of the Indo-Tibetan trade route, after which the matter was formally taken up with China, leading to a consensus on restarting the route, it added.

The state would now approach the central commerce ministry for completing the codal formalities.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)



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Canada, Brazil to resume Canada-Mercosur FTA talks in October

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Canada, Brazil to resume Canada-Mercosur FTA talks in October



Brazil, which now holds the rotating presidency of the South American bloc Mercosur, and Canada recently announced in Brasilia that they will resume negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA).

The bloc also includes Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, while the process of Bolivia turning a full-time member is under way.

Canada and Brazil, which now holds the rotating presidency of the Mercosur bloc, recently announced that they will resume talks for an FTA that have been stalled since 2021.
Canada’s renewed interest in restarting talks with Mercosur is due to the uncertainty caused by US tariffs.
The bloc also includes Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, while the process of Bolivia turning a full-time member is under way.

“We have directed our senior trade officials to engage in discussions, including a meeting of chief negotiators in early October, in order to resume free trade agreement negotiations,” Brazil and Canada said in a joint statement.

Canada’s renewed interest in restarting talks with Mercosur is due to the uncertainty caused by tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. Talks between Canada and Mercosur have been stalled since 2021.

“At a time when rules-based trading is being threatened, we need to stand with like-minded partners, as Brazil is, to really build on that structure, to make sure that structure exists, to promote more trade,” Canadian trade minister Maninder Sidhu was quoted as saying by global newswires.

“Brazil and Canada have been affected by measures that distort the legitimate flow of goods and investments, adopted without technical justification,” Brazilian foreign minister Mauro Vieira said.

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A summer roundup of news from the beauty industry: amidst flagging results and economic turbulence

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A summer roundup of news from the beauty industry: amidst flagging results and economic turbulence


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August 27, 2025

As summer draws to a close, it’s time to take stock for global beauty players. The 2025 summer season has been marked by mixed financial publications, against a backdrop of slowing consumer spending, markets that have become unpredictable and, above all, the forthcoming rise in customs duties in the United States.

While some companies fared better than others, all had to contend with a more complex economic reality. Here’s a look at the main players in the sector: France’s L’Oréal and the Americans, Coty and Estée Lauder.

Global beauty players see their performance disrupted by market uncertainty – Shutterstock

Coty in transition, between falling sales and possible asset disposals

The American group Coty saw its sales fall by 4% in its fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, for net sales of $5.89 billion (€5.07 billion). Demand remains weak, particularly in North America, and retailers are clearing their inventories rather than placing new orders. The group has indicated that it is going through a “transition year” and is counting on a return to growth in the second half of fiscal 2026.

Faced with this tense economic situation, Coty has launched a new phase of transformation called All-in to Win, which involves restructuring around 700 jobs. At the same time, market speculation has been circulating since June about a possible sale of assets, notably in luxury and consumer cosmetics. France’s Interparfums may be in the running.

Estée Lauder deepens losses and accelerates restructuring

For the other American giant, Estée Lauder, the results published at the end of August were particularly alarming. The group recorded a net loss of $546 million in the fourth quarter of its 2025 fiscal year, a figure almost double that of last year. This underperformance is largely due to the implementation of a restructuring plan announced in February, the total cost of which is estimated at between $1.2 and $1.6 billion. In all, between 5,800 and 7,000 jobs will be eliminated worldwide.

The general decline in sales, down 8% for the full year to $14.3 billion (€12.3 billion), affected all segments except perfume, which remained stable. The group was particularly hard hit by the collapse of travel retail sales, which fell by 28%.

Despite this, Estée Lauder remains hopeful of a rebound as early as 2026, betting on a gradual recovery, selective price increases, and double-digit growth in e-commerce. However, management anticipates a negative impact of around $100 million from U.S. tariffs in the current financial year.

L’Oréal forges ahead, buoyed by North America

In this tense climate, L’Oréal is doing rather well. At the end of July, the French group published sales up 1.6% to 22.47 billion euros for the first half of 2025, with net income up 1% excluding exceptional items. The United States is positioned as the main contributor to this growth, despite the introduction of new customs duties of up to 15% on cosmetics imported from Europe.

For the moment, management is downplaying the impact of these tariffs, describing the situation as “manageable”. L’Oréal already manufactures half of its products sold in North America in its four local plants, has built up strategic stocks, notably for its luxury and fragrance ranges, and is planning moderate price adjustments.

The group is also continuing to invest and strengthen its position, with the acquisition announced in June of the Color Wow brand, specialized in hair care products. CEO Nicolas Hieronimus says he is “ambitious” for the second half-year, while acknowledging an uncertain economic climate for both businesses and consumers.

While performances are mixed, global beauty players all share one observation: the market has become more volatile, purchasing behavior more unpredictable, and economic pressures increasingly difficult to circumvent.

Inventory adjustments, restructuring, industrial relocation, price increases, or asset disposals… the strategies differ, but all aim to maintain balance in an environment that has become highly unstable.

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Threatened with taxes, the EU rejects accusations of targeting US tech

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Threatened with taxes, the EU rejects accusations of targeting US tech


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August 27, 2025

The European Commission on Tuesday rejected US President Donald Trump‘s criticism that EU rules on digital services unfairly target U.S. technology companies. The EU also rejects the idea that these regulations are tantamount to censorship.

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Trump wrote on Monday that he would impose additional tariffs on all countries with digital taxes, laws or regulations, claiming they were “all designed to harm or discriminate against American technology”.

During August, the U.S. and EU agreed a joint statement on a deal to limit most U.S. tariffs on EU goods exports to 15%, with no mention of digital services.

The Trump administration has consistently criticized the European Digital Markets Act (DMA), which aims to limit the power of tech giants, and the Digital Services Act (DSA), which obliges major online platforms to fight illegal and harmful content.

The European Commission, which proposed both laws, declared on August 26 that it was the sovereign right of the EU and its member states to regulate economic activities. The Commission strongly refuted Trump’s claim that the EU was targeting US companies, insisting that the DMA and DSA applied to all platforms and companies operating in the Union.

A European spokesperson added that the last three DSA enforcement decisions concerned AliExpress, Temu and TikTok, all of which are owned by Chinese interests. The Commission has also opened DSA investigations into X (formerly Twitter) and Meta.

Accusations that European data laws censor social networks, as asserted by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, are “totally false and unfounded,” said the EU spokesperson.

The DSA is not asking platforms to remove content, but to apply their own terms and conditions, which define what should not appear on their platforms.

“And while we’re on the subject, more than 99% of content moderation decisions taken online in the EU are proactively taken by platforms, based on their own terms and conditions,” said the spokesperson.

As FashionNetwork.com noted, this latest U.S.-EU tussle comes at a time when the European Union wants to step up its fight against anti-competitive practices by some major digital platforms, but also intends to lay down a legal framework for the exploitation of artificial intelligence.

(with Reuters)

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