DELHI: India’s tariff and customs policies have made it harder for U.S. companies that want to increase trade with the country, according to a new released report from the U.S. International Trade Commission here the other day.
The ITC said that restrictive Indian policies hurt more than a quarter of U.S. companies in 2013, an increase of some 8 percentage points in six years.
Those policies include intellectual property directives, taxes and price controls, and affected a wide range of U.S. industries, including the wine and spirit sector, medical device makers and pharmaceutical companies.
Four top lawmakers on trade issues said they hoped that the new Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, would follow through on his vow to be more open to foreign investment.
“We are hopeful that we may see a deepening expansion of our long-term trade and investment relationship, which has already risen to nearly $100 billion,” said Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Reps. Dave Camp (R-Mich.) and Sandy Levin (D-Mich.).
“At the same time, we remain concerned about systemic and continuing market access barriers identified in the ITC’s report that undermine a market-based path to development for India and diminish opportunities for U.S. workers and businesses. We urge the Indian government to address these significant areas of concern as the United States and India work to strengthen our economic relationship.”
