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India has issued over 300 notifications since 2020 to promote food safety, protect animals and plants, and maintain product quality, according to the commerce ministry. These regulations, issued under SPS and TBT, are crucial for trade.
These notifications are issued under Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT). Both are allowed under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules.
TBT and SPS are non-tariff measures (NTMs).
SPS is used by countries to set out basic rules for food safety and animal and plant health requirements.
On the other hand, TBT deals with voluntary and mandatory standards and procedures to maintain the quality of products in the markets. When these regulations impose an unnecessary burden on trade, then they become non-tariff barriers (NTBs).
The data showed that as many as 62 SPS and 247 TBT notifications were issued by India since January 2020.
Since the formation of the WTO in 1995, the number of these regulations stood at 330 (SPS) and 434 (TBT). As per the WTO rules, member countries will have to notify or inform about these regulations to the WTO.
Each member country of the WTO has the right to assess the risks and determine what it considers to be an appropriate level of food safety and animal and plant health. What a country considers appropriate can vary from one nation to another based on their specific circumstances, preferences and risk tolerance.
The recent examples of SPS measures include regulations for infant nutrition food and food additives, and the development of food traceability mechanisms to ensure compliance with safety standards, and plant quarantine orders for various fruits and vegetables in India.
Similarly, examples of TBT measures by India include mandating labels with star ratings to indicate energy efficiency for air conditioners by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, quality control orders for toys, and food labelling and display norms.
According to experts, gradually customs duties are going down in the world, and issuance of these regulators is increasing as globally, there is a focus on quality and standards of goods.
“India should also use these regulations in greater numbers,” experts said.
The top ten SPS notifying WTO members are the US (4,807), Brazil (3,250), Canada (2,850), European Union (1,935), Japan (1,693), China (1,503), Peru (1,258), and New Zealand (1,019).
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