India is preparing to raise industry concerns on non-tariff barriers faced by them in various countries, at the WTO’s Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) committee meeting in Geneva from November 6-10.
“The Commerce Department has sought inputs from export promotion councils and industry associations on the non-tariff barriers (NTB) faced by them in different countries that impede exports. It wants to be fully prepared with a substantial list of items that face barriers related to standards or technical procedures, so that trading partners could be pushed to address them,” a source tracking the matter said.
Industry bodies have been asked to identify issues relating to NTBs that could be raised as Specific Trade Concerns (STCs) in next month’s meeting.
Rising NTBs in partner countries, especially in developed nations, is a problem as lower import tariffs in these markets sometimes do not benefit exporters because of technical barriers.
The WTO’s TBT Agreement focusses on ensuring that technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures are non-discriminatory and do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade. It also recognises WTO members’ right to implement measures to achieve legitimate policy objectives, such as the protection of human health and safety, or protection of the environment.
“In the past, a number of members, including the US and the EU, have raised TBT concerns related to India. These include in the areas of toys, electronics & ICT, telecommunication and alcoholic beverages,” the source said.
India, too, has raised some of its own concerns at the earlier TBT meetings, including on the EU’s hazard-based approach to plant protection products and setting of import tolerances, but there is definitely scope for sorting out more issues, the source added.