Japan has taken note of the challenges faced by Indian exporters, particularly non-tariff barriers, and assured India that it will examine measures and make necessary changes within the existing trade framework to help reduce the bilateral trade deficit, government sources said.
“Our Minister (Piyush Goyal) has had discussions with the government, with Ryōsei Akazawa, Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, and these matters (non-tariff barriers) have been touched upon,” a source aware of the discussions said.
Goyal, accompanied by more than 200 senior Indian industry leaders, was on a three-day visit to Japan from August 24 to 27 to discuss trade, investment opportunities and economic cooperation.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has also taken note of India's concerns over the trade deficit and indicated that the issue would be examined, the sources said.
“Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has taken note at the summit of our demand that we do something to fix this trade deficit and make this CEPA work a bit more equitably for both countries,” the source said.
India had a $15.4-billion trade deficit with Japan in FY26, according to Commerce Ministry data, up sharply from $8.2 billion in FY22.
The India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), signed in 2011, eliminated tariffs on a large number of products. However, Indian exporters have continued to face non-tariff barriers that have limited their ability to fully benefit from the agreement.
“She (Takaichi) has agreed that this will be looked at. She has instructed her officials to examine what can be done. Both sides are still evaluating whether we want to go in for a full-fledged revision. Right now, we are looking at what can be tweaked within the current parameters to make trade a bit more balanced and reduce Japan's surplus,” the source said.
Goyal concluded his official visit to Japan on Wednesday following high-level engagements in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka aimed at attracting greater Japanese investment into India and expanding bilateral economic cooperation across emerging and strategic sectors.
India also raised the issue of greater market access for basmati rice with Japan. Goyal assured that India would take up the matter during the review of the trade agreement and explore opportunities to expand exports of processed food products, the sources said.