Tariffs alone can't stop undesirable imports: Nirmala Sitharaman.

NEW DELHI: Commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said that tariffs alone will be unable to stop imports that India doesn't desire.

"Only tariffs can't stop imports that we don't desire," she said at CII's National Standards Conclave here.

Emphasising the need to set standards for every sector of the economy, the minister said that not only are these standards required to meet global demand, but also for Indian consumers.

Strong standards and regulatory framework would help domestic industry in becoming competitive in the world as well as the domestic market.

"We've set high benchmarks for IT-ITeS, health, higher education...which other sectors can follow," Sitharaman said and added that small and medium ejector uses will need hand holding to be able meet these standards.

Her statement comes in the backdrop of a large number of trade agreements being negotiated among large number of countries leading to a reduction of average global tariff rates along with an increased usage of technical regulations or mandatory standards globally.

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com