US govt body to conduct hearing on India's industrial policy

A key US Congressional committee will hold a hearing on how India's industrial policies are hurting US companies and threatning the Indo-US trade partnership.
Announcing the hearing scheduled to be held today, the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade in a memorandum has said that the Indo-US trade partnership is being threatened by India's adoption of discriminatory trade practices, including forced localisation requirements that do not comport with internationally accepted intellectual property standards.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee has invited top US experts from the private sector and businesses for the hearing titled, "A Tangle of Trade Barriers: How India's Industrial Policy is Hurting US Companies", though no officials have been asked to testify the hearing.

"The hearing will provide Members an opportunity to investigate how India's recent actions are affecting US companies, manufacturers, jobs, and the economy," the memorandum said.
"Unfortunately, many policies--primarily those related to intellectual property--adopted by the government of India over the past two years have raised serious concerns about the future of the trade relationship," it said.
"In fact, India remained on the US's Special 301 Priority Watch list in 2012 because it had "made limited progress on IPR protection and enforcement," it added.

"Some of India's trade barriers protect its own fledgling industries in certain areas. For example, the government enacted a number of policies that favor domestic Indian companies over US exporters in an effort to bolster domestic manufacturing," the memorandum said.

"Additionally, India has taken positions on intellectual property rights adversely affecting a number of US industries, including pharmaceutical, communications, and information technology," it said.
"Potentially of greatest harm is the negative effect India's actions could have on global trade should other countries follow suit with protectionist or retaliatory measures that slow global growth," it added.
"The trade policy actions by the government of India creating the most concern include, localisation or domestic content requirements, compulsory licensing and foreign direct investment restrictions (FDI)," it said.