India-US trade talks: DPDP Act, Information Technology rules dominate

Washington considers specific provisions in the DPDP rules and IT Rules non-tariff barriers for its companies

Deputy US Trade Representative (USTR) Rick Switzer-led American team, which was in New Delhi this week for trade talks, discussed with its Indian counterparts the executive rules under the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act and the Information Technology Rules of 2021, sources told Business Standard.

 

During the meetings held on December 10-11 with Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal and India’s chief negotiator Darpan Jain, Washington flagged specific provisions in the DPDP rules and IT Rules that it considers non-tariff barriers for American companies.

 

One of these is the data localisation norms prescribed under the DPDP executive