Sitharaman Blames China’s Non‑Tariff Barriers, Triggers $100B Trade Deficit

New Delhi’s trade deficit with Beijing has eclipsed $100 billion this year, a figure that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman underscored at the IMF meeting in Bangkok on Friday.

Sitharaman said China’s deployment of non‑tariff barriers—phytosanitary checks, import licensing and sanitary certificates—has kept Indian generic drugs, beef and vegetables out of the mainland market.

For a farmer in Gujarat, the phytosanitary hurdles mean a month‑long delay in shipping spices, costing ₹50,000 in lost revenue.

She noted that India has not imposed similar barriers, citing a policy of not retaliating and maintaining a level playing field.

China’s foreign ministry, through spokesperson Mao Ning, countered, asserting that China does not deliberately seek a trade surplus and is open to balanced cooperation, while Sitharaman also slammed India’s ASEAN trade deals as skewed and hinted at a forthcoming India‑US trade pact.

Rising imports of crude oil and fertilizers are draining foreign exchange; the RBI has stepped in, selling dollars and tightening derivative rules to shore up the rupee.