India-US investment treaty to take time

The US today said its proposed bilateral investment treaty with India will take time to materialise, but when clinched it would offer protection to investors in each other's markets.     

"The first round of negotiations for the bilateral investment treaty are taking place... We (will) probably take sometime to do this," Deputy United States Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis told reporters here.

Commerce Minister Anand Sharma had taken up the treaty when he was in the US in June.     

Marantis said the treaty would help in improving investments between India and the US — the two countries that have held up a global trade pact since 2001 on differences over farm subsidies.     

 

The two are also trying to bridge differences on the investment protection treaty.     

The visiting US official said the treaty would provide "robust protection" to the Indian and US investors in each other's markets.     

The bilateral treaty would also provide national treatment to private investments in each other's country.