The United States and European Union have raised significant concerns over India's trade policies during the country's eighth trade policy review at the World Trade Organization. According to reports from Business Standard, the WTO's trade policy review is a peer review of a country's trade policies, with India undergoing this review once every five years. The WTO Secretariat and India prepare detailed reports on trade policies and priorities, while other WTO members submit written questions seeking explanations for specific tariffs and trade barriers.
China, Indonesia and Brazil flagged trade barriers, industrial subsidies, quality-control orders (QCOs), tariffs, anti-dumping measures and agricultural support during India's eighth WTO Trade Policy Review in July. As reported by Business Standard, China gave the most wide-ranging critique, stating it expects India to follow WTO commitments, remove inappropriate trade barriers, and treat market entities fairly. Beijing specifically flagged the production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes, questioning their consistency with WTO subsidy rules and stating QCOs could be 'more trade-restrictive than necessary'. China also questioned additional tariffs on some information and communications technology (ICT) products, while highlighting New Delhi's extensive use of anti-dumping measures with 226 probes during the review period and 170 measures in force as of June 2025.
Indonesia's concerns were more directly linked to expanding bilateral trade, as it called for a 'modern and predictable framework for our trade' and urged India to enhance transparency, predictability, and efficiency of trade measures. As India's leading palm-oil supplier, Indonesia sought 'stable and predictable tariff treatment' and urged transparent, WTO-consistent implementation of PLI schemes and Approved List of Models and Manufacturers. The neighbour called for a simpler Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement with modern rules of origin and fewer border frictions. Brazil's objections were focused heavily on agriculture, seeking clarity on India's oilseed-production programme, farmer safety net and price-support payments, while also questioning export-tax reimbursement and transparency surrounding cotton bales QCO.
Services remain another area of contention, with the US recognizing India's recent liberalization of insurance and legal sectors while noting foreign participation remains restricted in several other services sectors. As reported by Business Standard, the US highlighted broad restrictions in electronic payment, retail, and e-commerce sectors that appear intended to prevent a level playing field for foreign companies. The US also welcomed India's consultations on the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025, but urged New Delhi to continue avoiding restrictions on cross-border data flows, including sector-specific data-localization requirements.
India defended its regulatory framework, with its representative stating that SPS measures are aimed at facilitating legitimate trade while protecting public health, food safety and biosecurity. According to Business Standard, India emphasized its commitment to transparency through timely WTO notifications and engagement with WTO members. The country argued that its QCOs and technical regulations are designed to meet legitimate objectives including preventing deceptive practices and protecting human, animal and plant life or health. India responded saying its industrial and trade measures were aimed at legitimate development objectives, adding they were WTO-consistent. The country also argued that the commercial impact of anti-dumping measures remained modest, adding these were subject to due process and judicial oversight. Notably, Russia reaffirmed its 'full support' for India's BRICS chairmanship and praised bilateral cooperation in energy, technology, pharmaceuticals, logistics and the proposed India-Eurasian Economic Union trade agreement. Saudi Arabia praised India's trade facilitation, infrastructure and digital reforms and backed ongoing GCC-India FTA negotiations, while Egypt said India's reforms could create stronger industrial partnerships for developing countries.
