Lawmakers Spell Out Complaints on Indian Import Barriers
The U.S. and India continue to build stronger trade ties, but the Indian government needs to do far more to cut tariff and non-tariff barriers for U.S. exports, said congressional leaders on the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees. The letter, sent on Sept. 18, precedes the U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue this week in Washington. Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and ranking member Sandy Levin, D-Mich., all signed on in a rare show of solidarity.
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India raised tariffs on information technology products in 2015 in violation of its commitments to the World Trade Organization Information Technology Agreement, said the letter. “India also restricts access to its market through non-transparent, and often discriminatory, regulatory and licensing procedures and practices,” said the lawmakers. “The most blatant include a variety of forced localization measures covering products ranging from solar to information technology.” In-country testing requirements for telecommunications equipment are also a burden on U.S. industry, said the letter.
The Indian government hasn’t publicly confirmed it aims to move forward with Trade Facilitation Agreement ratification, said the lawmakers. India blocked efforts to implement the deal for months in 2014 (see 1411130027). China signed onto the pact in recent days, but only 16 WTO members have done so (see 1509040014). Indian intellectual property rights protections are severely lacking, and the government doesn’t adequately enforce U.S. patents, said the letter. Among a laundry list of complaints in the letter, the lawmakers also said India is obstructing U.S. agriculture exports through a sluggish food approval system, import licensing barriers and non-science-based health restrictions.
Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of the letter.