BRICS need to eliminate non-tariff barriers,standardise payment mechanisms: EEPC

The Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) of India has urged BRICS member states to establish a unified agreement on non-tariff barriers (NTBs) and implement direct national currency settlement mechanisms to accelerate intra-bloc trade. Speaking during the BRICS Summit proceedings hosted by India, EEPC India Chairman Mr Pankaj Chadha stated that eliminating non-tariff measures—such as complex regulatory compliance, disparate technical standards and cumbersome Customs certifications—alongside establishing smooth local currency payment channels could resolve up to 75% of the operational challenges encountered by exporters.  With the engineering sector contributing nearly 27% of India’s total merchandise exports, key BRICS partners including Brazil, China, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and South Africa serve as critical growth markets. EEPC India emphasised that because non-tariff barriers often add higher transactional costs to physical exports than standard import duties, harmonising technical standards across the bloc—which controls nearly one-fourth of global trade—is essential to lowering landed logistics costs and driving long-term industrial trade integration, according to a report.

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