New Delhi: The United States has repeatedly raised concerns about certain non-tariff barriers faced by American goods in the Indian market. In Jaipur on April 22, U.S. Vice President JD Vance urged India to abandon non-propaganda barriers to make it bigger into its market. Indian products also face these problems in international markets including the United States, the European Union, China, Japan and South Korea.
List of Q&AS (Questions and Answers) to explain these barriers and related issues:
Q: What are the non-transmission barriers (NTBs) on the international trade list?
one. Non-tariff barriers are trade restrictions that do not involve tariffs (taxes or tariffs on imports and exports). These obstacles can affect the seamless movement of commodities across global borders. It is crucial to distinguish between non-advocacy measures (NTM) and NTB.
Most NTMs are domestic rules formulated by countries designed to protect the health and environment of human, animal or plant. NTMs may be “technical” measures such as regulations, standards, testing, certification, pre-freight inspection or “non-technical” measures such as quotas, import licensing, subsidies, government procurement restrictions, etc. When NTMS becomes arbitrary, beyond scientific defense, they create trade barriers and are called NTBs.
Q: How does NTB affect exporters or importers?
one: These barriers increase traders’ costs. They may need to spend more money to comply with destination country requirements, such as mandatory certification, testing or labeling. For example, Indian agricultural product exporters may have to pay for pesticide residues for EU-mandated laboratory tests. Exporters sometimes need to redesign their products to comply with technical standards or packaging rules in different countries.
This will also lead to delays in the arrival of goods and increase uncertainty. Complex procedures for carrying out paperwork, licensing rules or border checks can slow down the speed of goods. For example, exporters to certain African countries face longer port delays due to strict verification checks.
Q: What kind of NTBS Indian exporters are facing?
one: Many food and agricultural products in India are facing problems due to high pesticide levels, pests, presence and contamination due to foot and oral diseases. These result in refusal of export consignment and mandatory inspections.
Q: What are the main categories of these obstacles?
one: Complex and expensive prior registration: Under this, companies intending to export must first register with the destination country authorities. Register, in most cases, requires physical submission of documents and paying high fees. For example, to ship industrial products to China, companies need to register their products with Chinese authorities. This requires submitting a large number of documents, including detailed information about the company and its products.
Unreasonable domestic standards/rules: If a country sets strict standards and quality rules for foreign goods, it will affect trade. For example, it is complicated to obtain approval for exporting drugs to Japan. Indian medicines must be compliant with Japanese medicines and it takes a long time to register.
Q: What major NTBs are marked in the United States?
one: According to the 2025 National Trade Estimate (NTE) report on U.S. Foreign Trade Barriers, India maintains various forms of non-tariff barriers, such as prohibited or prohibited items that are denied entry into India (e.g., cattle, cattle, fat, fat and oil of animal origin); projects that require non-automatic import licensing (e.g., certain livestock products, medicines, certain chemicals, certain IT products); and projects that are imported only through government trade monopoly and require cabinet approval for import time and quantity (e.g., tariff rate quotas).
The report also notes that India imposes technical barriers to trade (TBT), such as mandatory quality control orders, as well as mandatory domestic testing and certification requirements for equipment.
For example, India has put forward heavy demands on dairy imports. India requires dairy products used in food to be derived from animals that have not been consumed, which have not been consumed with internal organs, blood powder or tissues of ruminants or pig origin, and exporting countries have demonstrated these diseases that lack discernible reasons for animal or human health.
Q: What obstacles has the US raised in its service sector in India?
one: According to NTE, foreign investment in enterprises by certain major service sectors, including financial services and retail, is subject to foreign equity restrictions, and foreign participation in professional services is greatly restricted.
In addition, barriers to digital trade and e-commerce, such as barriers to electronic payment providers, have secondary impacts on a variety of services.
Q: What steps are India taking to help its exporters handle NTB?
one: These issues were raised by the Government during bilateral meetings with various countries. The Ministry of Commerce is developing a platform for registered exporters to face non-TV barriers and to take their solutions with relevant countries.
