India is open to ease the quality control order (QCQ) framework for “trusted partners”, producing good quality products, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal has said.The minister, on a four-day visit to Switzerland and Sweden, said discussions on 90% of content were complete on India-EU FTA, with services and rules of origin negotiations slated to start from Monday. However, he said, key issue to be addressed is non-tariff barriers to make it easy to do business.New Delhi is implementing QCOs to promote manufacturing of quality goods in the country. Some countries including the US have raised the issue of QCO approvals.Goyal said rules, standards and process are the same for domestic as well imported goods and India does not discriminate between domestic manufacturers and foreign suppliers. National treatment is given to companies of all the countries, he added.”We are in dialogue with several nations on a mutual benefit basis and a mutual recognition basis, if other nations are willing to respect the high quality goods that India makes and allow us to do our own certification process. We are happy to allow our trusted partners to do the same,” Goyal told journalists here. Live EventsQCOs are designed to prevent the import of substandard goods while enhancing domestic manufacturing standards and ensure consumer access to high-quality products. New Delhi has issued QCOs for over 732 products till October 2024.EU FTAGoyal said significant progress has been made in talks on a free trade agreement with the European Union. “More than half the chapters are ready. In terms of content, I would say we are almost 90% ready for market access,” he said. The minister noted that finding solutions to address non-tariff barriers would be important for the proposed FTA and both the sides are actively working on resolving these issues. EU commissioner for trade and economic security Maros Sefcovic is expected to visit New Delhi on June 28-29 to further the talks.Asked about the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) unveiled by the EU, Goyal said this measure is “not good” as it is also a kind of a non-tariff barrier. He said the tax, if imposed, will do injustice to Indian industry and if the EU takes any such step, India will have to respond to that. “Our talks are going on the issue to find ways to deal with this,” the minister said.India-SwedenGoyal met senior members of the Swedish government and industry leaders, and visited telecom major Ericsson’s corporate headquarters here. He invited companies to enhance their footprint in India by taking advantage of the country’s enabling regulatory environment, growing consumer base, skilled talent pool and well-developed industrial infrastructure.The 21st India-Sweden Joint Commission Session, held here, explored strategic collaboration in green transition, advanced technologies and resilient supply chains.Goyal cut short his four-day visit to Switzerland and Sweden after the fatal Air India crash. ” It’s a very sad day for all of us… I would like to express my condolences to all the families who lost their near and dear ones,” he said.(The correspondent was in Sweden at the invitation of the ministry of commerce and industry)
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