INDIA is creating a new mechanism to monitor daily the t echnical barriers to trade (TBT) or non-tariff barriers (NTB) encountered by exporters, according to official sources.

The Department of Commerce has entrusted Export Inspection Council (EIC), a statutory entity, with the task of dealing with TBT notifications issued by different countries.

EIC would access from World Trade Organization's (WTO's) website TBT notifications issued by member countries and analyze them to specify the ones that are likely to have significant impact on Indian exports.

It intends to disseminate such notifications to exporters, ministries, export promotion councils and industry associations and other stakeholders.

EIC would also obtain clarifications on the notifications from the relevant issuing authorities of countries concerned.

It would also identify export-impacting issues and draft reports/papers/notes to help Commerce Department resolve them and thus protect Indian exports.

EIC has decided to outsource these activities to an entity have expertise in foreign trade policy matters. It has set in motion the competitive bidding process for selection of the agency that would take up the outsourced work.