India will address the concerns of its SAARC neighbours over non-trade barriers before March when trade ministers of all these countries meet in New Delhi, Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh said on Tuesday.
"We hope to be making substantial movement in addressing both real and perceived non-tariff barriers before the SAFTA Ministerial in March," he said in New Delhi. He said there were complaints from South Asian countries that while India was reducing tariffs, non-tariff barriers were proving to be hindrances in increasing trade.
India has a trade surplus with most countries in the region. However, India wants to send a signal that it is not just an exporter but importer of goods as well, he said.
A committee formed by the Ministry of Commerce to look into these non-tariff barriers has finalised its report and identified complaints received from the SAARC nations.
"These are not barriers specific to SAARC countries but are barriers caused by procedural issues and lack of documentation on our part," Ramesh said.
He said India has brought down import duty to zero on 4,536 tariff lines for least developed countries of Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives, Bhutan and Afghanistan in the South Asian region from January 1 this year.
Referring to the 744 items in the negative list, Ramesh said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked for a review of these items and to see how duties can be brought down on these products for these nations.
