Business
I’d like to be involved in UK-US trade talks, says Swinney
John Swinney has said he would like to be involved in trade talks between the UK and US following meetings with President Donald Trump about whisky.
The First Minister has met Mr Trump numerous times this year, championing tariff relief for the Scotch whisky industry – the UK’s biggest drinks export.
Discussions remain ongoing about the imposition of a 10% tariff on exports from the UK to the US, a result of Mr Trump’s desire for the levies.
Speaking to the US president earlier this year during a visit to Scotland, Mr Swinney put the issue of the Scotch industry on the table, with Mr Trump saying he “didn’t know whisky was a problem”, but appearing open to moving on the issue.
Speaking to the PA news agency ahead of the SNP conference in Aberdeen, the First Minister said: “I’ve not been privy to the trade talks.
“I would like to be, because I think I’ve actually been quite helpful in all of this.
“It’s clear to me earlier on this year that whisky was not really featuring in the trade talks at all, it was not there as a principle negotiating priority for the UK Government.
“Well, I had to make sure it was, because it really matters to Scotland.”
Trade remains reserved to the UK Government and the First Minister’s visit to Washington last month was facilitated by former ambassador Lord Peter Mandelson.
Reports emerged last week that whisky could be exempted from the US tariffs, but the First Minister said he had not heard any updates.
“We’ve sought engagement with the UK Government on the trade talks and we’ve had a certain amount of information, but nothing of the detail and I have no update on the events since the last time I had interactions with the Prime Minister on the margins of the state banquet at Windsor Castle when I had the opportunity to discuss it once again with President Trump and also a number of senior members of President Trump’s administration,” he said.
The First Minister argued there was an incentive for the US to reduce tariffs, given casks used to make bourbon whiskey are sold to distilleries in Scotland to age their product, with a fall in output here meaning a decline in demand for American casks.
“That’s a very valuable trade – it’s worth 300 million dollars a year,” he said.
“When I was in the United States in early September, I talked to one of the companies producing the whiskey casks and they’re having orders cancelled from Scotland because there isn’t sufficient production in Scotland to merit the casks coming from the United States.
“So, if we just were to take all of this out of the trade talks to say ‘let’s have zero for zero’, we would see an improvement in the fortunes for Scotch whisky and we’d see an improvement in the fortunes for, principally, interests in the state of Kentucky and the Kentucky bourbon industry.”
A spokeswoman for the UK Government said: “We have always used our trade agenda to promote our world-class Scotch whisky industry, by continually engaging with the US on the issue and securing significant tariffs cuts in our other trade deals like with India.
“Our deal in May secured preferential access to Scotch whisky to the US market compared with other major economies.
“We continue to work to ensure this deal protects British jobs and exports as part of our Plan for Change.”
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has approved a fresh increase in the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), raising the cost for both domestic consumers and commercial users.
According to the notification issued, the LPG price has been increased by Rs7.39 per kilogram, setting the new rate at Rs209 per kg for December. As a result, the price of a domestic LPG cylinder has risen by Rs87.21, bringing the new price to Rs2,466.10.
In November, the price of LPG stood at Rs201 per kg, while the domestic cylinder was priced at Rs2,378.89.
The latest price hike is expected to put additional pressure on households already grappling with rising living costs nationwide.
Business
Private sector data: Over 2 lakh private companies closed in 5 years; govt flags monitoring for suspicious cases – The Times of India
NEW DELHI: The government on Monday said that over the past five years, more than two lakh private companies have been closed in India.According to data provided by Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Harsh Malhotra in a written reply to the Lok Sabha, a total of 2,04,268 private companies were shut down between 2020-21 and 2024-25 due to amalgamation, conversion, dissolution or being struck off from official records under the Companies Act, 2013.Regarding the rehabilitation of employees from these closed companies, the minister said there is currently no proposal before the government, as reported by PTI. In the same period, 1,85,350 companies were officially removed from government records, including 8,648 entities struck off till July 16 this fiscal year. Companies can be removed from records if they are inactive for long periods or voluntarily after fulfilling regulatory requirements.On queries about shell companies and their potential use in money laundering, Malhotra highlighted that the term “shell company” is not defined under the Companies Act, 2013. However, he added that whenever suspicious instances are reported, they are shared with other government agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax Department for monitoring.A major push to remove inactive companies took place in 2022-23, when 82,125 companies were struck off during a strike-off drive by the corporate affairs ministry.The minister also highlighted the government’s broader policy to simplify and rationalize the tax system. “It is the stated policy of the government to gradually phase out exemptions and deductions while rationalising tax rates to create a simple, transparent, and equitable tax regime,” he said. He added that several reforms have been undertaken to promote investment and ease of doing business, including substantial reductions in corporate tax rates for existing and new domestic companies.
Pakistan’s textile exports surged to $6.4 billion during the first four months of the 2025-26 fiscal year, marking the highest trade volume for the sector in this period.
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), value-added textile sectors were key contributors to the growth.
Knitwear exports reached $1.9 billion, while ready-made garments contributed $1.4 billion.
Significant increases were observed across several commodities: cotton yarn exports rose 7.74% to $238.9 million, and raw cotton exports jumped 100%, reaching $2.6 million from zero exports the previous year.
Other notable gains included tents, canvas, and tarpaulins, up 32.34% to $53.48 million, while ready-made garments increased 5.11% to $1.43 billion.
Exports of made-up textile articles, excluding towels and bedwear, rose 4.17%, totaling $274.75 million.
The report also mentioned that the growth in textile exports is a result of improved global demand and stability in the value of the Pakistani rupee.
UK budget mildly deflationary; debt to climb past 106%: Fitch
OGRA Announces LPG Price Increase for December – SUCH TV
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