Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday called on BRICS countries to open their markets to each other, cut non-tariff barriers and link their payment systems.
The Minister pitched for deeper economic integration as the grouping seeks to build more resilient supply chains and navigate a fragmented global economy.
Goyal while speaking at the BRICS Business Forum 2026 in New Delhi said trade among member and partner countries should become deeper and more resilient, with supply chains running in both directions rather than being disrupted by protectionist barriers.
“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.
The minister also highlighted non-tariff measures as a major impediment to trade, saying they can impose export costs that are significantly higher than tariffs themselves. He called for easier market access and fewer regulatory hurdles across the grouping.
“We should open our markets for each other’s products, including for raw materials and critical minerals. Our supply chains will be resilient when they run both ways. Non-tariff measures lead to higher export costs, which are even more than the tariff measures,” he said.
Link payment systems:
He further urged the member countries to link the payment systems, and promote trade in local currencies, and make digital trade more accessible globally.
He highlighted that India has taken significant initiatives in laying out a digital public infrastructure.
Minister Goyal highlighted the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) performance in transforming India’s payments system, and said mentioned the UPI has crossed over 250 billion transactions a year, representing more than half of the transactions by volume across the world.
“Today, it (UPI) is also accepted in 11 countries and I would urge the BRICS 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.
