New Delhi: Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal urged BRICS members and partner countries to open their markets further, reduce non-tariff barriers and simplify regulations to deepen trade within the grouping.
Countries should make it easier to trade products such as raw materials and critical minerals, while speeding up customs clearances, he said while speaking at the BRICS Business Forum 2026 in New Delhi on Friday.
“Trade amongst partners should be deep, resilient, with diversified supply chains, and ensuring that at no point of time trade becomes an impediment to growth and the well-being of the people of each member state,” Goyal said.
Non-tariff measures can add costs for exporters, he said, calling for easier market access across BRICS countries.
The minister also called for greater movement of professionals between BRICS countries and mutual recognition of professional qualifications to expand services trade.
“Let us open our services markets to each other in a real sense,” he said, as reported by CNBC TV18.
Goyal also called for cooperation between agri-tech startups across BRICS to develop solutions for farmers and support food security.
“Let us also encourage our agri-tech startups to develop solutions together for farmers across the BRICS nations in the interest of food security for our people,” he said.
There is scope for India to increase exports of engineering goods, electronics and pharmaceuticals to BRICS markets, while agriculture, automobiles, auto components and services could support joint innovation and technology partnerships.
The minister also urged BRICS countries to connect their payment systems and increase the use of local currencies in trade. He pointed to India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) as a model for linking digital payments across countries.
“Today, it is also accepted in 11 countries, and I would urge the BRIC member countries and partner countries to link our payment systems, trade in each other’s local currencies, make digital trade global, and build together for the future emerging technologies,” he said.
UPI handles more than 250 billion transactions a year and accounts for more than half of global transaction volumes, Goyal said.
Commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal called for stronger rules supporting global trade, with a focus on bringing MSMEs into global value chains.
The global trade finance gap is estimated at $2.5 trillion he said and urged measures to help exporters access affordable working capital against confirmed orders and reliable payment records.
Trade among BRICS member countries rose from $84 billion in 2003 to nearly $1.2 trillion in 2024, Agrawal noted. He also suggested exploring a common BRICS mechanism, based on agreed principles, to facilitate digitally delivered services.