Commerce Department Hosts National Workshop on Environmental Trade Measures and FTAs

New Delhi, Jun 23 (KNN) The Department of Commerce, in collaboration with the Centre for WTO Studies (CWS) and the Centre for Research in International Trade (CRIT) at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) held a national workshop on environment-related non-tariff measures (NTMs) and their implications for World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).

The two-day workshop which was inaugurated on Monday brought together government officials, trade experts, WTO practitioners, industry representatives and stakeholders involved in multilateral and bilateral trade negotiations to discuss the growing use of environment- and climate-related trade measures and their potential impact on India's exports.

According to the Department of Commerce, key focus areas of discussion included assessing the implications of emerging environmental trade regulations for India's export competitiveness and exploring policy responses through WTO mechanisms and existing FTAs.

The discussion also covered Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), sustainability-related non-tariff measures, carbon- and deforestation-related trade regulations, industry perspectives and strategies for addressing trade concerns through multilateral and bilateral frameworks.

Experts from the WTO, trade policy institutions and government departments participated in the deliberations.

(KNN Bureau)