Lawmaker Calls for Boosting Exports of Liquor, LNG to India
The Biden administration should seek to remove trade barriers that are making it difficult for American producers of liquor and liquefied natural gas (LNG) to export their products to India, a member of Congress said July 23.
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Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., said India’s 150% tariff rate on imported liquor, including bourbon made in his home state, is impeding U.S. exporters and hurting the overall U.S.-India relationship.
“I would urge the administration, the State Department and the USTR to prioritize market access in India, the most populous nation in the world, in order to advance the important strategic relationship with India,” Barr said at a joint hearing of two House Foreign Affairs subcommittees. “And, of course, our Kentucky distilleries are ready to further that spirit.”
Donald Lu, the State Department’s assistant secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, testified that negotiating lower agricultural tariffs with India has proven challenging for many years but that the administration is “very committed to bringing down those tariffs.”
Also during the hearing, Barr criticized the administration’s temporary pause in approving LNG export applications, saying the U.S. should be exporting more energy to India to reduce that country’s dependence on Russian oil and deprive Moscow of revenue for its war machine.
The administration announced the LNG pause in January, saying it wanted to review criteria for approving LNG export applications, including the impact on climate change (see 2401260070 and 2402090005). A federal judge ordered the administration July 1 to end the pause (see 2407030058), and the administration has declined to say whether it will appeal the decision.
Also during the hearing, Lu said the administration is “trying very hard” to prevent Russia from using Central Asian countries to circumvent U.S. export controls and obtain parts for weapons. He said the administration has sent delegations to several Central Asian countries to encourage them to stop the diversions. While, “in many cases, those diversion activities have been stopped, it’s whack-a-mole,” Lu testified. “Wherever we stop it, it pops up again somewhere else.”