Let’s do business, avoid political tussles: PC to US

WASHINGTON: Seeking to reset India-US business ties, hit by recent differences, finance minister P Chidambaram on Thursday said that the two countries would do better to work together than blame each other.

“We are here to offer a hand of friendship,” the minister said at the US Chamber of Commerce.

Commenting on the immigration bill recently passed by the American Senate for nontariff barriers on temporary relocation, he said India’s policies are fair and in compliance with international laws, and the country was, in fact, a victim of US discrimination.

“In no language, in no dictionary is immigration defined as temporary relocation of knowledge workers,” he said. “We must find a way to disentangle this issue.”

On preferential market access that make domestic procurement of specified goods mandatory, the finance minister said the Indian government had shelved the plan last week.

On compulsory licensing – the forced sharing of a patent for a fee -- the minister pointed out that India has issued only one such licence since 1947. “The developed world issued 50,” he said, proceeding to list transgressors that included Canada, Italy and even the US itself.

Chidambaram felt that US companies were politicising business rivalries with Indian companies, trying to turn them into political issues between the two countries.