India-US Interim Agreement: India agrees to 6-month review of US or global standards for imports

"The United States and India will address non-tariff barriers that affect bilateral trade"

• India and US agree to discuss standards for goods in identified sectors
• US to cut tariffs on Indian goods to 18 percent under interim trade agreement
• India to address barriers for US medical devices, ICT, and agricultural products

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As part of the India-US Interim Agreement on trade, India has agreed to determine within six months whether US or international standards are acceptable for goods that will enter into Indian markets in the "identified sectors".

"For the purposes of enhancing ease of compliance with applicable technical regulations, the United States and India intend to discuss their respective standards and conformity assessment procedures for mutually agreed sectors," a press release issued by the commerce ministry said on Saturday.

The United States and India will address non-tariff barriers that affect bilateral trade, said the release.

On February 6, India and the United States unveiled a framework for an Interim Trade Agreement, an early deliverable ahead of a full-fledged Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA). The headline outcome: the US will cut reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18 percent, while India commits to wide-ranging tariff reductions and regulatory easing for US exports.

This is not the final deal. But it locks in sector-level give-and-take, and sets the runway for a comprehensive BTA.

As part of the agreement, India agrees to address long-standing barriers to the trade in U.S. medical devices; eliminate restrictive import licensing procedures that delay market access for--or impose quantitative restrictions on--U.S. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) goods.

"India agrees to determine, with a view towards a positive outcome, within six months of entry into force of the Agreement whether US developed or international standards, including testing requirements, are acceptable for the purposes of U.S. exports entering the Indian market in identified sectors," the release said.

Recognizing the importance of working together to resolve long-standing concerns, India also agrees to address long-standing non-tariff barriers to the trade in U.S. food and agricultural products, the release added.

"The United States and India agree to strengthen economic security alignment to enhance supply chain resilience and innovation through complementary actions to address non- market policies of third parties, as well as cooperation on inbound and outbound investment reviews and export controls," said the release.

Moneycontrol had reported on November 14 that a NITI Aayog panel has recommended to pause the upcoming Quality Control Orders (QCOs) on raw materials and capital goods, along with restricting new QCOs only to products that pose direct safety or environmental risks.

The capital goods equipment flagged by the report includes industrial machinery, electrical equipment and engineering components covered under the Omnibus Technical Regulation issued by the Ministry of Heavy Industries.

Sources said the panel has also suggested sweeping reforms in the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), as well as scrapping of the Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS) which it said duplicates existing measures to check imports while adding to compliance costs.