India: India has made all cement exports subject to a US$10,000 Performance Bank Guarantee. A letter issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to all foreign cement manufacturers explained that cement exporters will have to submit this guarantee in order to be qualified to export cement to the country.
Pakistan cement producers view this as another non-tariff barrier imposed by the BIS to restrict cement exports from Pakistan despite the country being designated 'most favoured nation' status by India effective from 1 January 2013.
According to an industry official quoted by the Pakistani Observer, India has previously used non-tariff barriers to slow Pakistan exports. In 2007 the BIS issued licenses to Pakistani cement manufacturers after physical verification of their production process but these expired leading to slowdowns in cement exports.
