Russia to address India's concerns on non-tariff barriers across sectors

During Putin's visit, both nations agreed to remove non-tariff barriers in pharma and agriculture to boost Indian exports and balance the trade deficit

India and Russia are working towards resolving New Delhi’s concerns on non-tariff barriers across sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, agriculture, marine products, dairy and poultry. 

The Indian side has been raising its concerns over these issues for more than a year. However, the momentum to resolve the trade barriers picked up after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi last week. 

During the high-profile visit, along with a delegation, discussions took place not only at the government level, but talks were held between the industry from both sides. 

While agriculture exporters face non-tariff barriers related to long-drawn Russian certification and listing processes, pharmaceutical exporters face problems related to that Eurasian standards that need to be adhered to. 

Officials said that in the case of agriculture exports, Russia follows a system of registering and inspecting units, which has been extremely slow. Russian authorities also visit facilities in India for inspection, and in case of certain deficiencies, notices are issued to the exporters and in some cases these notices lack clarity. 

“The entire process takes time, despite having a pact between the Export Inspection Council and Russia’s agricultural regulator,” a senior government official told Business Standard. 

“Ideally, if such a system is adopted, there shouldn’t be any need for a physical inspection. However, over the last couple of months, we have been able to get the registration process expedited. This is a positive development for us,” the official said. 

Ajay Sahai, director-general and chief executive officer (CEO) of Federation of Indian Export Organisations (Fieo) said if the trade-related hiccups are resolved, we will be able to double our exports to Russia in a year’s time. 

On Friday, India and Russia agreed on a joint “Programme for Economic Cooperation” until 2030, targeting bilateral trade of $100 billion. This is primarily by expanding Indian exports through Moscow’s removal of non-tariff barriers and regulatory bottlenecks. 

“In order to achieve the $100 billion target, with balanced trade, there is a need to increase India’s exports to Russia. Indian imports from Russia have already peaked and there’s not much scope to enhance it further,” the official cited above said. 

According to government data, the total trade between India and Russia grew from $8.73 billion in FY22 to $68.7 billion in FY25, mainly due to New Delhi’s oil purchases. 

Inbound shipments rose from $5.48 billion in FY22 to $63.8 billion in FY25, while exports grew from $3.5 billion to only $4.88 billion. As a result, the trade deficit widened to $58.92 billion in FY25 from $1.98 billion in FY22. 

Both sides called for addressing tariff and non-tariff trade barriers, removing bottlenecks in logistics, promoting connectivity and ensuring smooth payment mechanisms. 

They also sought mutually acceptable solutions for issues of insurance and reinsurance and regular interaction between the businesses of the two countries. 

These are among key elements for timely achievement of the revised bilateral trade target of $100 billion by 2030, the joint statement said following the 23rd India-Russia annual summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.