this is the business briefing. i'm susannah streeter. india's plastic crackdown. how narendra modi plans to conquer the country's rubbish mountains. wto warning. the world trade organization has slashed its forecast for trade growth this year by more than half, warning the slowdown could hit living standards and jobs. concerns about global growth have affected the financial market. this isa affected the financial market. this is a snapshot of what has been happening.

india, a country of more than a billion people is expected today to begin an initiative to clamp down on single—use plastic including bags, cups, straws and disposable cutlery by 2022 — but at a time when the government is concerned aboutjobs it's rumoured the modi administration will hold off from introducing an outright ban. india creates almost 26,000 tons of plastic waste a day, that's roughly 115 times the same weight as the statue of liberty. and they aren't alone. according to the un the world throws away 300 million tons of plastic waste each year — that's enough to fill 65 million shipping containers. a lot of that ends up in the ocean, with marine plastic pollution estimated to costs the world between $500 billion and $2.5 trillion a year in lost earnings. but even the thought of a proposal to limit plastics in india has already spooked businesses and manufacturers.

suranjana tewari travelled to gorakhpur in northern uttar pradesh to speak to some of them. india has one of the fastest growing plastic industries in the world. every year, more than 14 million tons are produced for sale the country and for export. but the workers at this factory, and for millions of others across the end —— across india are suddenly staring at an uncertain future. translation: across india are suddenly staring at an uncertain future. translatiosz these goods are phased out there is no alternative. what will happen to us no alternative. what will happen to us in the industry? and i were employees? we asked the government for time, three orfour years employees? we asked the government for time, three or four years to prepare. the prime minister is on a mission to free india of single—use plastic. but the lack of parity over what could be phased out has taken a toll stop this factory has already seen a drop of 30— 40% in sales.

many businesses produce plastic product ahead of time and so it is not uncommon to have this volume of stock ready to be shipped out. but with so much uncertainty surrounding the government ‘s policy on single—use plastic, many businesses around the country like this one do not know if they stop be sold or go to waste. concerns are growing around the world about plastic pollution. but it is these visuals that have really rattled india. a garbage mountain in new delhi on course to ride —— rise higher than the taj mahal in coming years. course to ride —— rise higher than the taj mahal in coming yearsm course to ride —— rise higher than the taj mahal in coming years. it is a challenge because we do not manage oui’ a challenge because we do not manage our waste. we need to strengthen segregation and processing, we need to strengthen recycling. and all of it is not happening in the present context. some states in india have already banned a number of plastic products, or think already banned a number of plastic products, orthink smaller already banned a number of plastic products, or think smaller units like this one to shut down entirely. there is no doubt india has a long

way to go in solving its problem with plastic. but most people agree that waste management is as critical as carving —— is curbing the use of these products. natalie babbage, global director, kantar joins me now. you have been undertaking research into consumer attitudes towards plastic, haven't you? firstly, why do you think governments are reining back, and that certainly seems they do, from introducing outright bans. how strong is the plastics lobby?m is fairto how strong is the plastics lobby?m is fair to say that plastic currently permeates every aspect of oui’ currently permeates every aspect of our shopping experience. if you walk down a supermarket aisle, every single shelf has plastic product, especially in countries like india where people buy single—use sachets of shampoo or biscuits. everything is covered in plastic and for business that means all of their

products are wrap in this. and there are not many effective alternatives available at the moment, if you just increase abound. we have been asking for tweets on this today to find out whether consumers would be prepared to pay more. what is your research indicate? my research involved interviewing 65,000 consumers in 2a countries for a report called who ca res countries for a report called who cares who does. we asked consumers if they would be willing to pay more and less than 50% even claimed they would be willing to pay more. we often find when you ask people they say yes and then they go to the sheh say yes and then they go to the shelf and they see the price and then even fewer people are willing to do it. perhaps, if supermarkets do introduce other packaging, consumers would get used to that pricing structure more rapidly. the simple fact is that there are not enough alternatives on supermarket shelves. that is very fair. we did ask people who do you think should be responsible and nearly half of them said manufacturers. the biggest

reason for that is because, you know, you look at the shelf and you are not know, you look at the shelf and you a re not really know, you look at the shelf and you are not really sure what you can purchase without plastic. and interesting as well, i tried to give up interesting as well, i tried to give up plastic and ifound interesting as well, i tried to give up plastic and i found that it is very time—consuming. there are shops where you can purchase in bulk if you take your own containers, reusable containers, you must be extremely organised. and that in itself costs money and time. absolutely. if you look at the alternatives at the moment, the first thing the consumers asked for was removing plastic from the fresh aisle. and you can see the reason they want that is because it is actually fairly easy for the consumer perspective. but when you look at other alternatives so refill stations for staples or for beauty products, that involves making a lot of special trips, often two different stores, and carrying your own containers. and we found that very few consumers really want to do

anything that is out of their normal habit. 0ne anything that is out of their normal habit. one interesting thing was that we found that consumers who ta ke that we found that consumers who take the most actions were actually the over 50s. and we really thought it would be younger people. i think that time factor is one of the reasons for the engagement from that group. thank you very much for talking to us and taking us through that. the world trade organization has slashed its forecast for trade growth this year by more than half. it blames the downgrades on slower growth in major economies, trade wars and ongoing uncertainty over brexit. let's go to our asia business hub where shara njit leyl is following the story. tell me more about this morning. that is right. it is a dire warning. the wto now says it expects trade volumes to slow to just 1.2 in 2019, down from the 2.6% it predicted in april. it is also cutting global

economic growth forecast due to the data showing that trade is slowing substantially in the first half of the year. as you say that has been brought on by the concerns they have over slow growth in economies, trade wa i’s over slow growth in economies, trade wars and the ongoing uncertainty over brexit. they cited a higher degree of uncertainty and warned that expansion in world trade volumes could slow to its lowest rate in years by the end of this year. the wto direct the general said is mrs a delaying investments and hiring and this squeezes growth and hiring and this squeezes growth and puts at risk better living standards. we know it all comes weeks before the us and china are scheduled to meet or another round of trade talks. the two countries have already raised tariffs on billions of dollars of each other‘s export. the us is due to instant pose more tariffs this month. and of course there is brexit with the uk still slated to leave the eu at the end of this month.

now let's brief you on some other business stories. ecuador, one of the smallest members of the organization of the petroleum exporting countries, opec, said on tuesday it will leave the 1a—nation bloc from january one due to fiscal problems. the andean nation is attempting to increase crude production to raise more income and has on multiple occasions broken its output quota fixed by opec. the us commerce secretary is expected to visit india today. according to reports, wilbur ross will meet finance minister nirmala sitharaman and commerce minister piyush goyal in delhi. the trip comes as the two countries remain locked in a trade dispute. that's it for the business briefing this hour. but before we go, let's check in with the financial markets. global shares on indices open around the world have fallen to levels not seen for a month after us manufacturing activity tumbled to more than a decade low, sparking worries that the fallout from the us—china trade war

is spreading to the us economy. however, oil has rebounded from several days of declining values after industry data showed a surprise drop in us crude inventories, offsetting those weak economic readings in the us. so oil has rebounded you can see their light crude is up 0.25%. ben crude is also up and that comes after an initial spike we got after those attacks on the saudi oil facilities a week or so ago. then of course once production was brought up course once production was brought up to full levels we did see the oil price fall back a little and as you now it has bounced up a little bit as well. overall, the markets are very concerned about prospects for global growth without latest report out halving prospects around the world. next up, we have news briefing where we will take you

through the stories making headlines. proposals for a long—awaited new law to better protect victims of domestic abuse will be debated by mps today. the bill is expected to include provisions to place a legal duty on councils to offer secure homes for those escaping violence, and ban perpetrators from being able to directly cross—examine victims in court. breakfast‘s graham satchell reports. charlotte runs a refuge in southern england providing shelter and help for a 11 women and 2a children at any one time. the government ‘s domestic abuse bill comes back to the commons today after fears it would be lost when parliament was pro— road. it defines domestic abuse

legally for the first time to include coercive controlling behaviour and. alleged perpetrators cross—examining victims in court. campaigners have welcomed the bill but say it does not go far enough. campaigners have welcomed the bill but say it does not go far enoughlj think for us the most important thing missing is the guarantee of funding for refugees —— refuges and other specialist services. domestic abuse murders are at a five year high and, really, this is something that we and other campaigners have been saying. unless a safe refuge is provided victims of domestic abuse, then, sadly, murder rates will increase. the government insist victims of domestic abuse should be able to access appropriate support at the appropriate time and the builders in their words an opportunity to stamp out this devastating crime for good. but charities say there simply is not enough support. 60% of people referred to refuges last year were turned away. local authority funding

has dropped by almost a third since 2010. charlotte ‘s funding from her local authority is guaranteed for the next 12 months but after that, she says, she does not know. coming up at six o'clock on breakfast, dan walker and louise minchin will have all the day's news, business and sport. this is the briefing from bbc news. the latest headlines: borisjohnson's to reveal his plans to seal a brexit deal but warns it will involve customs checks on the island of ireland. there's anger in hong kong after police shoot a protester with live ammunition for the first time. students show their solidarity. let's have look at a few stories making the headlines in other outlets today. we begin with the south china morning post, which contrasts the giant spectacle in beijing marking the 70th anniversary of the communist state with the battle on the streets in hong kong.

"unity and division," reads the headline. here in europe, we appear to be approaching the end game for borisjohnson's brexit negotiating strategy. his favourite newspaper, the telegraph, has him rolling up his sleeves to present his plan for a customs deal covering the border between northern ireland and the republic. meanwhile, the irish times quotes the country's leader, leo varadkhar, as saying his government will never agree to customs checks, so it's hard to see where a deal can be reached. turning to france, le figaro looks at the problem of fake news. it follows a huge fire at a chemical plant in the city of rouen. despite the best efforts of the authorities to say there is little risk to human health, the local population is extemely unwilling to believe them. italy is getting worried about the prospect of the trump administration imposing tariffs on the country's iconic food exports. buzzfeed highlights a stunt by a reporter from a local news programme handing us secretary of state mike pompeo a block of parmesan cheese in protest.

and, finally, bloomberg looks into the scandal that has engulfed credit suisse with the resignation chief operating officer after admitting spying on a former senior executive. and it all began with a row at a party. with me isjonathan charles, managing director, communications at european bank for reconstruction and development. let's start with the headline in the south china morning post. it is a real contrast on the front page, this display of unity that we have with president xi, the contrast of the mass protest leading to the shooting of a demonstrator. do you think this could mark a turning point in the way that the authorities are dealing with these mass protests? i think it is pretty interesting. president xi went out of his way at those ceremonies in beijing to talk about