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NTB: Ministry seeks industry response

Special Correspondent

BIMSTEC intra-regional trade formed 14.75 p.c. of group countries' total trade

CHENNAI: The Commerce Ministry has appealed to industrial units and chambers of commerce to provide it with details of non-tariff barriers faced by Indian products in member-countries of BIMSETC.

The Ministry has placed on its website a questionnaire, to which responses have been sought by October 30 at the email addresses: rsraina@nic.in, gsidhu@nic.in and raghavnarsalay@elp-in.com.

The BIMSTEC at present includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. India is negotiating a free trade agreement with other BIMSTEC members.

Data analysis

The Ministry, citing World Bank data, says that intra-regional trade among BIMSTEC members amounted to 14.75 per cent of their total trade in 2003. In spite of high tariff walls in several member-countries, the intra-regional trade exceeded the trade amongst export-intensive countries in the MERCOSUR grouping of Latin America by three percentage points, it says.

India's intra-regional trade with BIMSTEC countries increased from 4.12 per cent of its total trade in 2001 to 6.61 per cent in 2003.

"Studies show that by promoting rapid tariff liberalisation in the BIMSTEC region, India's exports to BIMSTEC countries will rise by 74 per cent in comparison to the figures clocked in 2003", the ministry says.

Top ten sectors

The top ten sectors that account for a major chunk of exports from India into BIMSTEC countries are: edible vegetables and cereals, animal fodder and waste from food industries, engineering and other capital goods, petroleum products and natural gas, articles of iron and steel, vehicles, cement, iron ore, aluminium and various types of steel, insecticides and inorganic chemicals, and rough diamonds.

The questionnaire is aimed at helping the government understand the real monetary and qualitative impact of technical standards, sanitary requirements and other certification and procedural requirements in BIMSETC member-countries on India's exports.

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