Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Dec 3: India has addressed several non-tariff barriers (NTBs) with Russia across sectors such as marine products, agriculture, electronics and engineering goods, a move expected to push up exports in the coming months, sources in the Ministry of Commerce said.
According to officials familiar with the discussions, issues related to varying standards have been taken up with the Russian side. “In sectors like engineering goods, exporters often face confusion as some products require European Commission standards, others Eurasian Commission standards, and some purely Russian standards. These concerns have now been discussed and addressed,” a source said.
The source added that even Russian President Vladimir Putin has assured cooperation on resolving these hurdles, underlining the strong political will on both sides to ease non-tariff barriers and facilitate smoother trade.
India has been working to tackle NTBs to reduce the widening trade imbalance with Russia. Over 65 non-tariff measures impacting Indian exports have been identified so far, mainly affecting marine and agricultural products.
Commerce Ministry data shows that India’s imports from Russia jumped nearly twelvefold, from $5.48 billion in FY21 to $63.81 billion in FY25, largely due to increased purchases of discounted crude oil. In comparison, India’s exports to Russia grew by just 84% during the same period, leading to the trade deficit ballooning from $2.8 billion in FY21 to $58.9 billion in FY25.
Officials said defence exports and technology transfers are likely to be key focus areas in the ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) discussions between the two countries. With Russia increasingly sourcing consumer goods from China amid war-related economic pressures, India is also exploring opportunities in goods and services, including labour mobility.
However, sources noted that language barriers could pose challenges for large-scale movement in the services sector, even as both sides look to deepen economic engagement.