Developed economies like the EU are exploring innovative ways to restrict imports from developing countries with legislations like CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) and EUDR (EU Deforestation Legislation) which are violative of WTO agreements and bound to make Indian exports to the region less competitive.
The point was flagged at a webinar on ‘Emerging non-tariff barriers in the apparel export sector’ by the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), India’s apex trade body for the textiles-apparel sector. The seminar was organised by the AEPC in collaboration with Sarvada Legal.
Key Points: Exhorting that ways and means need to be explored to handle the challenges arising out of these legislations, the AEPC General Secretary Mithileshwar Thakur said that non-tariff barriers (NTB) have slowly but surely emerged as a potent tool to damage and even disrupt legitimate trade.
- The Co-Founder of Sarvada Legal, Seetharaman Sampath, said that the EU, USA and UK are India’s top markets for the apparel sector and so “we should be extra careful about their moves to bring any legislation/regulation in the nature of TBTs affecting the apparel sector.
- “Most countries follow a consultation process before a new TBT is introduced or an existing TBT is modified. Indian industry must participate in the consultation process and report its apprehension and objections to the government at the initial stage of the law-making process itself rather than complaining after its entry into force.”
- Non-tariff measures like certifications, inspections, regulations, standards, SPS and TBT measures are by and large in conformity with WTO laws and agreements and it is only when these measures are used unfairly, in violation of WTO agreements, to discriminate against imports and restrict market access that these become non-tariff barriers hampering legitimate trade.
- The webinar highlighted that in a survey it was found that since 2019, 69% of textile related NTB/TBT notifications relate to the apparel industry alone.
- There were 131 NTBs notification issued related to the textiles sector since 2019 with Uganda topping the list with 71 notifications followed by Ecuador 10, China 8, Taiwan 7, Israel 5, USA 4, Peru 3, etc.
- NTBs also include unjustified and/or improper application of Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) such as sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and other technical barriers to trade (TBT).
- NTBs arise from different measures taken by governments and authorities in the form of laws, regulations, policies, conditions, restrictions or specific requirements, or prohibitions that protect the domestic industries from foreign competition.
- The TBTs include technical regulations that are applied mandatorily, conformity assessment procedures and voluntary standards.
