Canada, Japan, UK, EU question India’s quality control orders at WTO

Subject: Economy

Section: External Sector

What is the issue?

Canada, Japan, the UK and the European Union have raised concerns at the WTO about the increasing number of quality control orders (QCOs) being issued by India across sectors such as toys, tyres, auto parts, chemicals and petrochemical products, many of which seem “protectionist in nature
Earlier this week, at a meeting of the WTO Committee on Trade in Goods in Geneva, the four members noted that some of India’s QCOs may not be compliant with WTO norms as they appeared to be tools to protect domestic industry
The Department of Policy for Investments and Internal Trade has issued 20 QCOs in the last three years for products such as toys, leather and rubber footwear, safety glass and sewing machines.