India to push for reviving commercial dialogue with US via video-conferencing

These talks cover trade defence measures, SMEs and capacity building on IPRs

Even as an advance US team is visiting India next week to finalise the agenda for President Barack Obama’s meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the one thing India has decided to push for is revival of its commercial dialogue.

The commercial dialogue, which covers trade defence measures, small and medium enterprises, and capacity building on Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), was started in March 2000 and previously renewed in March 2012.

“We will request the US to restart the mechanism, as it results in a more straightforward and clear dialogue. That helps get better clarity on matters related to bilateral issues and understand each other’s systems,” a senior official told Business Standard.

At a US-India Trade Policy Forum in November last year, both sides had agreed to initiate new dialogues in the fields of standards and manufacturing.

Earlier, dialogues among officials of both sides have taken place through video conferencing (VC). The first such VC had taken place in December 2012, when the US made a presentation on its standards system, while the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) gave a brief overview. This was followed by another in February 2013 where both sides made presentations on the ‘intelligent transport system’. The next VC, expected in August 2013, did not take place.

US companies have alleged India’s trade and industrial policies have been unfavourable to them. The US International Trade Commission (USITC), a quasi judicial body, has said in a report that Indian policies continue to remain restrictive and unfriendly for American businesses.

An American business grouping — the Alliance for Fair Trade with India (launched in June 2013) — has been urging the US government to pressure India on issues concerning US firms. Earlier, US senators, too, have raised issues of India “continuing to shut out American companies by restricting imports, employing localisation barriers and forcing US companies to give intellectual property to Indian companies as a condition for market access” concerning patent protection, intellectual property and mandatory local procurement”.