Quality control orders were meant to make sure that imports into India satisfy quality standards. In practice, however, they have become a tool to restrict imports and minimise competition
President-elect Donald Trump has renewed his threat to impose a tariff wall on Indian imports to the US. One of the few recognisable threads knitting together the tangle that is Trump’s long tenure in public life is a disdain for “unfair” tariffs. India is often singled out for failing to reciprocate America’s generally low import taxes. If India charges us 100% tariffs, Trump asked, do we charge them nothing for the same goods?
Trump was, however, barking up the wrong tree. The real problem with India’s trade policy lies in a seemingly innocent administrative procedure that doesn’t sound half as dangerous as tariffs. Most people operating in India today don’t complain about import taxes so much as they do about non-tariff barriers to trade. In particular, companies are flummoxed by a new weapon in the bureaucrats’ arsenal they call “Quality Control Orders”.
Trump was, however, barking up the wrong tree. The real problem with India’s trade policy lies in a seemingly innocent administrative procedure that doesn’t sound half as dangerous as tariffs. Most people operating in India today don’t complain about import taxes so much as they do about non-tariff barriers to trade. In particular, companies are flummoxed by a new weapon in the bureaucrats’ arsenal they call “Quality Control Orders”.