India has urged Russia to lower trade barriers on Indian exports such as electronics, engineering goods, food products and fisheries, as New Delhi seeks ways for Moscow to utilise $50–55 billion worth of roubles piled up in bank accounts due to an oil-led trade imbalance.
According to a report by The Times of India, Indian exporters are facing several challenges in accessing the Russian market. In the electronics sector, software-related requirements imposed by Russian authorities have emerged as a major hurdle, while strict standards are delaying shipments of engineering goods. In addition, local language compliance norms are proving difficult for exporters in certain product categories.
“Our goods have to contend with some Russian standards and some Eurasian standards, which makes it tough to export,” the newspaper quoted a person familiar with the discussions as saying.
The issue has reportedly been taken up at the highest levels of government, as India continues to run a significant trade deficit with Russia, estimated at nearly $25 billion during the first seven months of the current financial year. The gap is largely due to crude oil imports from Russia.
While the trade deficit is expected to narrow with some Russian oil companies facing US sanctions and Indian refiners reducing purchases, new suppliers have stepped in to maintain crude supplies, the report said. Due to sanctions, Indian oil companies have been paying for Russian crude in roubles and other currencies, leading to large amounts remaining parked in Russian banks. At the same time, Indian exporters have struggled to increase shipments to Russia, despite interest from Russian retail chains in importing Indian food and other products.
“We have taken up the issue of strict standards with Russian officials at the highest level and there is appreciation to resolve it,” an official was quoted as saying.
The discussions come ahead of negotiations scheduled next month on a proposed trade agreement between India and the Eurasian Economic Union, which includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.