US, EU Criticise India's Tariffs, Trade Barriers at WTO Review Meeting

New Delhi: The United States and European Union have raised multiple concerns over tariffs and other regulatory and non-tariff barriers during a recent discussion on India's eighth Trade Policy Review at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Representatives from the EU and the US said India's measures could undermine its efforts to open up the economy and integrate with global supply chains, says a report in Business Standard.

The WTO's Trade Policy Review is a peer review mechanism for members' trade policies. At the meeting, the EU raised concerns about what it called "unpredictable" customs procedures, cumbersome SPS requirements, gaps in intellectual property and geographical indication protections as well as reduced access to government procurement.

The US was India's second-largest trading partner in 2025-26. Earlier, it was the largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching about $129 billion in 2024 and India running a $45.7 billion surplus. China overtook the US the following year, with bilateral trade with India reaching $151.1 billion.

EU was India's third-largest trading partner in goods in 2025, with Euro 118 bn in goods trade, or 11.1% of India's total trade, while other estimates put it as the second-largest trading partner. India and the EU concluded a free trade agreement in January 2026 that still awaits ratification. The EU said at the WTO review meeting that their agreement contained provisions to address non-tariff barriers.

"It is also a very ambitious agreement when it comes to the rules, notably on the non-tariff barriers to trade. Implementation will be essential to ensure that the rules we have agreed on paper do materialize on the ground and bring concrete benefits to operators," the EU said.

The India-EU trade agreement is expected to eliminate or reduce tariffs on 96.6% of traded goods by value, Reuters reported after it was signed.

Also read: Are Quality Control Orders Making Indian Trade Policy Protectionist?

Both trading blocs said that the standards India was applying for quality control (Quality Control Orders), SPS and TBT were not in tune with global norms and risked isolating the country, said the publication.

The EU highlighted India’s growing use of QCOs, saying they had burdensome requirements based on domestic standards.

"This risks increasingly insulating the Indian market from the world's economy and reversing the economic progress that we saw over the last years," the EU said, while acknowledging that a reform process had been started following a report by NITI Aayog's High-Level Committee on QCOs. 

India defended its regulatory framework at the review meeting, and said that its SPS measures intend to facilitate legitimate trade while protecting public health, food safety and biosecurity. It also said that the standards are meant to protect human, animal and plant life or health as well as the environment.

"India’s objective throughout has been to facilitate legitimate trade while safeguarding public health, food safety and biosecurity," India's representative to the WTO said, according to the review minutes, reports the paper.

Also read: India’s Erratic Agriculture Trade Policies Are Hurting Both Farmers and Exporters

The US, meanwhile, said India must take steps to address barriers to services and digital trade, among other issues. It said some of India's SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary) measures and TBT standards, which pertain to testing standards for product quality, safety, labelling, packaging and performance needed review.

“While we are encouraged by the Indian government's pursuit of trade agreements that will foster transparency and good regulatory practices, India must take additional steps to significantly reduce tariffs, remove unjustified SPS and TBT measures, refrain from imposing barriers to services and digital trade, and roll back regulations that discriminate against foreign exporters and investors,” the US said in its statement.

The US welcomed India's consultations on the controversial Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025, but was critical of localisation norms in sectors such as ICT goods, services, spirits and medical devices. It recognised India's recent liberalisation of the insurance and legal sectors, but again said that foreign participation was still restricted or prohibited in multiple other services.

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