EU’s proposed sustainability standards to hurt Indian exports: GTRI

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

EU’s recently passed regulation, Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) will lead to high costs and hurt exports from developing countries, economic think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said Wednesday. The ESPR mandates that imported products meet stringent sustainability standards, including a Digital Product Passport for traceability.

ESPR will cover all products by 2030 but would begin with regulating items such as textiles, furniture, mattresses, tyres, detergents, paints, lubricants, iron and steel from January 2026.

“ESPR will lead to high costs of products because of changes needed in production processes. Since most products covered are consumer products, the price rise may lead to inflation in the EU,” GTRI said.

Besides, it could hurt exports from developing countries due to the increased costs and challenges of meeting high EU standards and compliance cost.

GTRI said that Indian firms exporting to the EU must proactively prepare to comply with ESPR requirements to maintain their market presence and leverage the shift towards sustainability for competitive advantage.

It has suggested evaluating the environmental impact of their products throughout their life cycle, monitor the ESPR adoption process, develop compliance plans, and ensure that suppliers provide necessary sustainability data for the Digital Product Passports.