US presses India on IP shield and trade barriers

Seeking to achieve a “more balanced” trade relationship, the US has pressed India on key issues such as market access, lifting of trade barriers, and intellectual property protection. During the first US-India bilateral Trade Policy Forum under the Donald Trump administration, India strongly differed with the American position on many of the contentious issues.

Seeking to achieve a “more balanced” trade relationship, the Trump administration has pressed India on key issues such as market access, lifting of trade barriers and intellectual property protection.

During the first US-India bilateral Trade Policy Forum (TPF) under the Trump administration, which was attended by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu, India strongly differed with the American position on many of the contentious issues.

Describing his discussions with Lighthizer as “positive”, Prabhu said “despite differences over minor issues”, there was alignment on “capturing the huge potential” of bilateral trade.

Lighthizer said the US pressed for strong outcomes across a number of areas, including non-science-based barriers to agricultural trade, continuing and new regulatory and technical barriers to trade that impact sales of US high technology and other products. The US delegation also pressed India in a number of agricultural and industrial sectors, market access in services and protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.

India also said the Totalisation and Social Security Act of the US discriminates against Indian workers in the US, who end up losing their social security contributions because of a discrepancy in the visa and social security regimes. Totalisation is about allowing temporary Indian workers in the US to repatriate their social security contributions when they leave the country, commerce ministry sources said.

India wants early conclusion of the issue, aiming to protect the interests of Indian professionals who contribute around $1 billion (~6,670 crore) each year to US social security.