The Ministry wants t

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1 Background Note India is currently negotiating a free trade agreement with BIMSTEC countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand). According to the World Bank, intra-regional trade among BIMSTEC Members was 14.75% of their total trade in the year In spite of the presence of a large number of countries with high tariff walls, intra-regional trade between BIMSTEC countries in the year 2003 exceeded the trade amongst export-intensive countries in the MERCOSUR (group of Latin American countries) by 3% points. This shows that it has much potential in augmenting trade. Interestingly, India s intraregional trade with BIMSTEC countries increased from 4.12% in 2001 to 6.61% in the year Studies show that by promoting rapid tariff liberalization in the BIMSTEC region, India s exports to BIMSTEC countries will rise by 74% in comparison to the figures clocked in the year Non-tariff barriers manifesting themselves in the form of technical standards, sanitary standards, certification and procedural requirements can become a major obstacle for the growth of Indian exports to the BIMSTEC region. Recognizing the contribution that a better understanding on non-tariff barriers/requirements can make towards fostering trade in the BIMSTEC region, the Ministry of Commerce is keen to: (a) Document non-tariff requirements that are of relevance to the existing and future export trade basket of India while trading with BIMSTEC countries; (b) Quantify the existing and potential loss that implementation of such non-tariff requirements are resulting on exports from India into BIMSTEC-partners; (c) Ascertain whether these non-tariff barriers are pushing exporters to engage into practices that are resulting/would result in loss of government revenue; Analyses of the DGCIS data on trade between India and BIMSTEC countries shows that the following sectors account for a major chunk of exports from India into BIMSTEC countries: 1. Edible vegetables, cereals 2. Animal fodder and waste from food industries 3. Engineering and other capital goods 4. Petroleum products and natural gas 5. Articles of iron and steel 6. Vehicles 7. Cement 8. Iron ore, Aluminium and various types of steel 9. Insecticides and Inorganic Chemicals 10. Rough Diamonds

2 The Ministry wants to understand the real monetary and qualitative impact of such technical standards, sanitary requirements, other certification and procedural requirements on their exports. It is keen to know if such requirements are actually dissuading businesses from exporting into these markets. A process that has been found useful in the past is that of distributing a focused questionnaire that will help the Government and the industry to document its responses concisely. The information may be provided electronically by 30th October, 2006 as per the questionnaire at the following addresses : rsratna@nic.in, gsidhu@nic.in and raghavnarsalay@elp-in.com

3 QUESTIONNAIRE I. SECTION ONE: ABOUT YOUR ENTERPRISE/CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND ITS EXPORT BASKET 1.1 Name of your enterprise/chamber of commerce : 1.2 Coordinates : 1.3 s exported to BIMSTEC countries : 1.4 Value/Volume of exports of various products during to Name(s) of the BIMSTEC country(ies) Volume of exports Value of exports (US$) 1.5 s your enterprise/members of your Chamber will like to export in future Name(s) of the BIMSTEC country(ies)

4 II. SECTION TWO: ABOUT NON-TARIFF REQUIREMENTS/BARRIERS YOUR EXPORTS FACE WHILE ENTERING ANY BIMSTEC COUNTRY Name of the Name of the BIMSTEC country Type and Description of Non- tariff requirements/barriers faced in each identified country Have these non-tariff requirements/barriers intensified or reduced over the last five years? Have you stopped exporting to the BIMSTEC country due to intensification of the non-tariff requirement/barrier? III. SECTION THREE: COST OF COMPLYING WITH THESE REQUIREMENTS OR BARRIERS IN TERMS OF VALUE OF EXPORTS OVER LAST FIVE YEARS BIMSTEC country Cost as a % value of exports over last five years Have these costs increased or reduced over the last five years?

5 IV. YOUR VIEWS AND SUGGESTIONS 4.1 Do you think that the non-tariff requirements to be satisfied by your exports in BIMSTEC countries are more stringent and more costly in comparison to other export destinations? 4.2 If yes, then what are the reasons according to you for the same? 4.3 Do you feel that these non-tariff requirements are acting as barriers rather than genuine requirements? If yes, why? 4.4 What measures will you suggest such that the cost of complying with these barriers will significantly come down? 4.5 Do you feel that the non-tariff requirements on your product should be completely done away with in the BIMSTEC country? If yes, why?