Standards should not act as non-tariff barriers, says Commerce Secretary

India is being mindful of signing its recent bilateral treaties after discussing these issues, the official said

Standards for goods and services should act as non-tariff measures instead of acting as non-tariff barriers, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said.

"The current global trade is at $25 trillion in 2022 and WTO estimates it to grow to $30 trillion by 2025. Seventy percent of global trade is happening through global value chains with components for each product coming from dozens of countries. Unless standards within and outside value chain develop, the whole chain cannot grow," Barthwal said at the G20 standards conclave organised by Bureau of Indian Standards on November 2 in New Delhi.

However, he continued, that different countries have begun setting different standards. "There is North-South divide in global trade and standards have started acting as non-tariff barriers," he said.

"While trade barriers have come down in the Global north and Global south, non- tariff barriers have been increasingly coming in. Standards should act as non-tariff measures but have now become non-tariff barriers. Standards need to be able to result in optimal output for both consumers and producers," the secretary added.

As per him, India is being mindful of signing its recent bilateral treaties after discussing these issues. "Our recent treaties being done with different countries are touching upon these issues," he said.

G20 nations are participating in a two-day G20 Standards Dialogue in New Delhi beginning November 2, under India’s on-going presidency, focussing on inclusive standardisation and good regulatory practices.

The event, being coordinated by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), has participants from World Standards Cooperation, a high-level collaboration between the three world-wide international standards development organisations, the International Electrotechnical Commission, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

This is the first of its kind regulatory dialogue as important regulatory bodies across countries are participating to discuss and share best practices and examine if some agreements could be reached to streamline actions, the source added.