Indian government has proposed the creation of new standards for electronics industry in India to target imported electronics, that might affect importing of devices such as iPad here, reports The Economic Times. This announcement seems to be a response to mega trade treaties such as Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), the Trans Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), that eliminates import duties and other tariffs on imported electronics. Rajeev Kher, Secretary, Department of Commerce, Government of India meanwhile said recently that the emphasis is now shifting to creation of rules, regulations and standards. This is a shift from the tariff-based protectionist measures used by countries, to using technicalities for controlling what goods are imported. Issues with the proposal - As per the new proposal, electronics goods that are imported and sold in India will need to comply with Bureau of Indian Standard and get certified by them starting July 1. Many US-based companies are of the opinion that India is rushing it out, though the date has been extended twice already. - There is also criticism that BIS does not have enough testing centres with the required facilities as of now. It is worth noting that the organisation has more 140 recognised laboratories (pdf) for testing, apart from 24 specialised centres (pdf), but it's not clear how many of these deal with electronics exclusively. - The US trade bodies believe that if the July 1 deadline is not deferred it could affect their supply chains in the country. This is…
