India ready to ease non-tariff barriers

NEW DELHI, FEB 25 -

India has said it is ready to ease the non-tariff barriers affecting Nepali exporters.

The quota system imposed by the Government of India , quarantine check procedures, customs clearance and lack of infrastructure have been identified as the major hurdles to exporting goods to India .

Arvind Mehta, joint secretary at the India n Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said the southern neighbor was ready to reduce the barriers if Nepal makes a concrete approach. “Nepal should make specific approach on the problems on the customs charge and days of customs clearance, among others, that are being faced by the exporters there,” he said at an interaction in New Delhi on Friday.

Nepal’s trade deficit with India has been ballooning. Although India has been providing concession facility to Nepali products with at least 30 percent value addition, the non-traffic barriers have been hitting Nepali exporters hard.

Mehta said the Government of India was positive on pulling out the quota restriction imposed on Nepali products like vegetable ghee, acrylic yarn, copper products and zinc oxide.

The quota system limits vegetable ghee export to 100,000 tonnes a year, while exports of metallic products, including copper and zinc oxide, have been limited to 10,000 tonnes annually. The system also requires Nepali exporters to undergo long bureaucratic procedures every time they wish to export goods to India .

“The use of arbitrary measure in the past is of no relevance in the present context,” said Mehta, adding that the India n government implemented the provision to “protect” newly opened factories in India .

Besides quota, other trade barriers like quarantine check, lengthy customs clearance process and lack of infrastructure facilities on the Nepal- India border are also creating hassles to Nepali exporters.

Mehta said the quarantine check process can be simplified provided the issue is raised at the policy level. On customs clearance procedures, he said the India n government has planned to propose a joint team at the main customs points which could make customs check effective.

“If implemented, the mechanism will relieve cross-border traders by clearing cargo on the spot,” Mehta said, citing a similar model being adopted in the European countries.

On infrastructure-related barriers, Mehta said India was working on expanding infrastructure in five main customs points, including Raxaul and Jogbani. As far as the infrastructure development on the Nepali side of the border is concerned, the government of Nepal has to take the initiative to solve land acquisition-related issues, he said.

Source: The Kathmandu Post