Time to reverse a rash of quality control orders

Suman Bery has pointed out how QCOs act as non-tariff barriers to the anguish of MSMEs. Given India's need to signal trade openness, we should roll back all except the few we need

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Perhaps the only positive outcome of the tariff turmoil that the US has plunged the world into is the renewed attention being paid to trade barriers. Across the world, it has led countries to re-examine their own policies. So too in India. It is in this context that comments made by Niti Aayog's vice-chairperson Suman Bery, who also chairs the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, assume significance. On Tuesday, he flagged the harm that many of our micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have suffered due to a flurry of quality control orders (QCOs) issued by the government. These call for quality check approvals for goods to be imported into India, with the Bureau of Indian Standards in charge of certifying whether specified items are worthy of use. While consumer protection is the ostensible aim, the red tape involved tends to act as a non-tariff barrier. As reported, by one count, India had as many as 187 QCOs covering 769 products by mid-March. Some of these are for inputs used by various industries and have had the effect of