REF. MR/MIN/2019/1811 November 5, 2019
TO MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL
Sub: Non-Tariff Barriers imposed by various countries on our exports.
We would like to inform that a reporting system, to ascertain Non-Tariff Barriers, with India’s trading partners has been designed by the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry to enable timely resolution of the same and ensure smooth flow of trade between India and our trading partners all over the world.
In this regard, this Council has been advised to submit report on trade issues by 5th of every month so that the same can be taken up with the concerned authorities by the Government for early resolution.
As you may be aware, with the increasing commitments, most of the countries globally have substantially reduced their respective tariffs. Therefore, countries have now gradually adopted Non-Tariff Barriers as the common measures to restrict imports.
Non-tariff measures (NTMs) are policy measures — other than ordinary customs tariffs — that can potentially have an economic effect on international trade in goods, changing quantities traded, or prices or both.
Some of the common Non-tariff measures are given in the ANNEXURE – I, for your ready reference. Any of Non-tariff measures when applied by a country is regarded as Non-Tariff Barrier.
In view of the above, it requested to send yours inputs on the Non-tariff Barriers imposed by the Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin American & Caribbean Region pertaining to exports of MMF textiles, to this Council on the Format prescribed in Annexures – II & III respectively by Friday 8th November, 2019 and also on 3rd of every following month from December onwards. The desired inputs should be sent through email at baruah@srtepc.in, mr@srtepc.in.
Thanking you.
Regards,
S. Balaraju
Executive Director
ANNEXURE - I
- Sanitary and phytosanitary measures refer to measures affecting areas such as restriction for substances and measures for preventing dissemination of disease. It also includes all conformity assessment measures related to food safety, such as certification, testing and inspection and quarantine.
- Technical measures refers to measures such as labelling and other measures protecting the environment, standards on technical specifications and quality requirements.
- Measures related to pre-shipment inspections and other customs formalities.
- Contingent measures implemented to counteract particular adverse effects of imports in the market of the importing country, including measures aimed at “unfair” foreign trade practices, contingent upon the fulfilment of certain procedural and substantive requirements.
- Licensing, quotas and other quantity control measures groups the measures that are intended to limit the quantity traded, such as quotas. It also covers licences and import prohibitions that are not SPS- or TBT-related.
- Price control measures implemented to control or affect the prices of imported goods in order to, inter alia, support the domestic price of certain products when the import prices of these goods are lower; establish the domestic price of certain products because of price fluctuation in domestic markets, or price instability in a foreign market; or to increase or preserve tax revenue. This category also includes Anti-dumping.
- Finance measures refer to measures restricting the payments of imports, for example when the access and cost of foreign exchange is regulated. It also includes measures imposing restrictions on the terms of payment.
- Measures affecting competition. These measures grant exclusive or special preferences or privileges to one or more limited groups of economic operators. They refer mainly to monopolistic measures, such as State trading, sole importing agencies, or compulsory national insurance or transport.
- Trade related investment measures groups the measures that restrict investment by requiring local content, or requesting that investment should be related to exports in order to balance imports.
- Distribution restrictions refer to restrictive measures related to the internal distribution of imported products.
- Measures that relate to the subsidies that affect trade.
- Government procurement restriction measures refer to the restrictions bidders may find when trying to sell their products to a foreign Government.
- Restrictions related to intellectual property measures and intellectual property rights.
- Rules of origin groups the measures that restrict the origin of products, or their inputs.
- Export measures groups the measures a country applies to its exports. It includes export taxes, export quotas or export prohibitions, etc.
