India's plan to mandate local testing of all networking equipment used in the nation has provoked an international trade dispute.
Both the US-based Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and the European Union have opposed the plan to introduce a local testing requirement from July 1, the Economic Timesreported.
The EU has urged India not to require local testing for equipment that has already been cleared by globally certified labs, arguing that the requirement will lead to delays in the supply of critical infrastructure and increase the cost of telecom services.
The EU is pressing India not to mandate in-country testing for products already covered by the Common Criteria Recognition Arrangement (CCRA). But products not covered by the arrangement which have undergone international testing should also be exempt, according to the EU.
Industry body TIA has meanwhile written to the US International Trade Commission arguing that India should not pursue telecom policies that “rely on protectionism.”
The letter states that there is no evidence that the location of testing has any bearing on the accuracy of the test as long as it is conducted by an internationally-certified laboratory.
India's Department of Telecom introduced the new norms earlier this year in a bid to improve network security and encourage local manufacturing of telecom equipment.