The United States and the European Union (EU) have expressed formal concerns at the World Trade Organization (WTO), claiming that India’s efforts to fully integrate with global supply chains are being hindered by high tariffs and stringent domestic regulations.Western trading partners highlighted a network of non-tariff barriers during India’s eighth trade policy review at the WTO. These include stringent local-content requirements, unclear customs procedures, technical trade barriers, and sanitary and phytosanitary security measures.Every five years, member nations can review each other’s trade policies and challenge established rules through the WTO’s trade policy review process. While acknowledging India’s overall economic momentum, the US and EU pushed India to make fundamental changes.India’s growing reliance on Quality Control Orders (QCO) was highlighted by the European Union. According to Brussels, these rules require compliance evaluations based on national norms that differ from global standards.The EU claims that such regulations run risk of protecting the local market and undermining recent economic gains. The bloc emphasized that ground-level execution is still crucial, even if it acknowledged that a NITI Aayog committee report had sparked internal reform talks.The United States concurred, arguing that the QCO continues to disrupt imports of chemicals, medical devices, and information and communication technology products. Washington also criticised domestic local-content requirements, saying they reduce the competitiveness of imported goods across several sectors.Beyond goods trade, the US highlighted persistent market-access barriers in India’s services sector, stating that restrictions in retail, e-commerce and electronic payment systems hinder a level playing field for foreign companies.While acknowledging consultations on the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, the US also advised India to avoid cross-border data flow limits and obligatory data localisation regulations.Indian delegates responded to the criticism by defending the country’s policy framework on the WTO floor. Sanitary and phytosanitary procedures, according to officials, are intended to safeguard food safety, biosecurity, and public health while maintaining lawful trade.