Commerce Ministry Establishes Task Force To Identify And Resolve Trade Barrier Conflicts For Exporters

Indian exports have been impacted by trade barriers like time-consuming registration requirements and unreasonable domestic standards/rules, and therefore, this task force assumes great significance

The commerce ministry has established a task force to identify and resolve trade barriers that exporters in other countries face, an official said. This decision is expected to help give greater market access to domestic goods. 

The official observed that Indian exports have been impacted by trade barriers like time-consuming registration requirements and unreasonable domestic standards/rules, and therefore, this task force assumes great significance. “We have constituted a task force within the ministry where we will be looking at the trade barriers, and technical barriers. The ministry has been focusing on how to improve systems, and improve standards,” the official said, reported PTI.

The official added, “The ministry is also looking at improving mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) with different countries so that product standards are as per the requirements of the importing countries. Standards for goods and services should help in promoting global trade and not act as non-tariff barriers.”

Think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), in its report, observed, “India needs to act in a fast-track manner for removal of non-trade barriers (NTBs), being faced by domestic exporters in different countries like the US, China and Japan, to achieve one trillion dollar outbound shipment target for goods by 2030. It has asked for upgrading domestic systems, in cases where Indian products are rejected due to quality issues; and retaliating if unreasonable standards or rules continue to obstruct exports from New Delhi.”

The report noted that major Indian exports that face high barriers regularly include chillies, tea, basmati rice, milk, poultry, bovine meat, fish, chemical products to the EU, sesame seed, black tiger shrimps, medicines to Japan, and bovine meat to South Korea, among others. 

Typically, non-tariff measures (NTMs) are domestic rules designed by countries to protect human, animal, or plant health, and the environment. When NTMs become arbitrary, beyond scientific reasoning, they cause obstructions for trade and become known as non-tariff barriers (NTBs).