Eliminating non-tariff barriers, smooth payment mechanism key to boosting BRICS trade: EEPC India

The country's apex engineering exports promotion body, EEPC India, on Sunday called for eliminating non-tariff barriers and having a smooth payment mechanism among BRICS nations to boost trade. EEPC India Chairman Pankaj Chadha said an agreement on non-tariff barriers between BRICS nations is the need of the hour.

"Around 75 per cent of the problems faced by exporters can be solved by eliminating non-tariff barriers and having a smooth and efficient payment mechanism in individual national currencies," Chadha said. "We can have a common agreement on non-tariff barriers between BRICS nations and agree to a set of standards.

While we have been discussing this for a while now, it is time to move to its execution," he said. It is a widely recognised fact that non-tariff measures add more costs to exports than tariffs in most countries, necessitating urgent steps to simplify regulatory procedures between trade partners, the EEPC India chairman said.

As BRICS accounts for nearly one-fourth of global trade, eliminating non-tariff barriers can further increase its share of total cross-border trade, according to EEPC India. With engineering goods among India's major exports, trade facilitation measures would significantly boost the sector, it said.

According to the latest available official data, India's engineering exports account for nearly 27 per cent of the country's total merchandise exports. Brazil, China, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and South Africa are key destinations for engineering exports among the major BRICS nations.