India, US move step closer to resolve trade issues

NEW DELHI: India and the US have moved a step closer to resolving their outstanding trade issues, with India considering accepting some US demands regarding medical devices and electronics (IT) products. An announcement is likely before the so-called twoplus-two talks between the two countries scheduled to be held in New Delhi on September 6.

According to two people familiar with the matter who briefed Hindustan Times separately, India and the US have discussed medical devices, dairy, and IT products, the three areas where US President Donald Trump was keen India make some concessions.

In medical devices, for instance, India is veering around to the US view of capping trade margins for some products, instead of outright price controls. In early 2017, India had capped prices of products such as stents, affecting large US multinationals such as Abbot and Boston Scientific, which even considered withdrawing products till India said there was no such provision. India’s medical devices market is estimated to be as big as $5 billion.

In dairy, the two people, neither of whom wished to be identified, said there is unlikely to be much progress because the US dairy industry uses bonemeal as part of cattlefeed and this means the milk and milk products are “non-vegetarian”.

Given the cultural issues, this is a deal-breaker for India, one of the two people added.

HT learns that India even rejected a US proposal to mark these dairy products with a brown dot to show that they were “non-vegetarian”.

In IT products, India has been insisting that US products meet Indian standards as laid down in the Compulsory Registration Scheme for IT products.