India flagged concerns with Russia over non-tariff barriers: Commerce secy

The trade between both countries expanded rapidly over the last two financial years

India has flagged concerns over non-tariff barriers (NTBs) faced by its exporters with the Russian government, commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal said here on Monday.

NTBs faced by Indian exporters are mainly in sectors such as marine products and pharmaceuticals. For instance, India has been finding it difficult to export marine products to Russia as exporters face certification and listing challenges related to exports.
 

“These issues are being taken up at different forums. We are looking at getting greater market access and addressing these non-tariff barriers in areas such as marine products and pharmaceuticals,” Barthwal told reporters, adding that a visit to Moscow is also being planned.
 

The secretary's statement comes against the backdrop of setting an ambitious target to increase bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030, up from over $67 billion now. The target was set during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia last week.
 

“We are looking to raise the overall trade volume with Russia... We are looking at various sets of commodities such as electronics, engineering goods and other items, where trade can be enhanced,” the commerce secretary said.
 

The trade between both the countries expanded rapidly over the last two financial years. However, it was mainly driven by a rise in oil imports from Russia, soon after its standoff with Ukraine started in February 2022. Trade deficit with Russia is also the second highest, raising concerns over an “imbalanced trade” between the two countries.
 

As far as the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) with Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is concerned, conversations between chief negotiators have been made. Broad contours and terms of reference are being finalised, Barthwal said.
 

EAEU comprises five member states of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia.
 

On the other hand, senior officials of India and the 27-nation European Union (EU) are expected to hold the next round of talks for the proposed FTA, which aims at boosting commerce and investments, in September.

Darpan Jain, joint secretary in the commerce department, said the eighth round of talks was concluded on June 28 and saw discussions on all 21 chapters. 

Progress was made in areas such as government procurement, digital trade, technical barriers to trade, goods and market access. “We plan to hold more inter-sessional meetings in July and August, and we intend to have another round (of talks) in the last week of September,” Jain told reporters here.

As far as the proposed FTA with the UK is concerned, another official said that with the new government taking charge in Britain, the two countries will take forward the negotiations.

Last week, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that both countries are “deeply committed” to signing an FTA.

Earlier this month, Keir Starmer became Britain’s Prime Minister after his Labour Party’s landslide electoral victory against Rishi Sunak-led Conservatives. Starmer’s win has renewed hope for the long-pending India-UK trade deal.

Govt sets up panel to resolve non-tariff barrier issue

The government on Monday confirmed that it has set up a panel to resolve the issue of non-tariff barriers faced by Indian exporters.
 

The government is also working towards launching an online platform so that the trade barriers can be dealt with more ‘systematically’, commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal said. “To give more focus to this matter, we have constituted a task force within the department of commerce. We are also working on a digital platform, whereby it will become easier for our exporters to tell the system and us which are the non tariff barriers they are facing in different countries,” Barthwal told reporters.

The portal will help exporters in meeting the non tariff measures so that goods can be produced depending on the needs of different trade partners.

“Different countries have different standards and they vary a lot and we have seen that in the case of spices. EU has very stringent standards while US has relatively liberal ones…so exporters have to send products as per their standards,” he added.

On Monday, Business Standard reporter that the government is working towards a strategy to tackle non-tariff barriers faced by exporters by setting up a committee and launching a portal.