India will push for the removal of stringent quality norms for export to the European Union in the bilateral trade and investment agreement that is being worked out now.

Restrictions on supplying ayurvedic medicines to the EU countries, extremely low maximum residue limit (MRL) on products such as spices and registration problems faced by poultry and egg suppliers are high on India’s agenda. The issues are likely to be brought up in the next India-EU high-level trade group meeting.

India has been nudging the EU for a long time to relax the norms for supplying ayurvedic medicines, now classified as herbal medicines, in its member countries. The restrictions include a directive circulated in 2004 stating that companies wanting to export traditional herbal medicines to the EU must submit evidence to prove that the product has been in medicinal use for at least 30 years preceding the date of application, including 15 years within Europe.

“This has been acting as a big technical barrier to trade for India and we will try to take it up in the bilateral agreement,” a source said.

“The EU members have much lower MRL than scientifically required to prevent diseases. It is affecting exports of a number of agricultural products, including spices, from India. This issue needs to be addressed at least in the bilateral trade and investment agreement,” the source added.

The India-EU trade and investment agreement covers goods (both agriculture and industrial), services and investment. The two sides expect to conclude the agreement in the next couple of years.

Ms. Akash Menon

(Tradeindia Expert)

M/S Menon Exports and Designing Ltd.

MD, M/S Menon Exports and Designing Ltd.
New Delhi, India