Taking action to address Indian trade barriers: USTR

The Obama Administration has initiated a series of actions to address the issues posed by Indian trade barriers, the USTR said today noting that it has been successful on some issues while on the others it has dragged New Delhi to the World Trade Organization.
In its 2014 National Trade Estimate Report Major Developments, US Trade Representative (USTR) said that in 2012, India began implementing the Preferential Market Access (PMA) policy, which mandated that not only government agencies but also private firms, purchase a certain percentage of domestically manufactured electronic equipment.
"Following extensive engagement with the United States and other governments regarding telecom network security, India eliminated the discriminatory domestic purchase mandates that the PMA imposed specifically on private firms," USTR said.

India's Supreme Court appeared to confirm that India's Patent Law creates a special, additional criterion for patentability for select technologies, like pharmaceuticals, it said.
As a result, India would deny patents to such technologies unless they exhibited "therapeutic efficacy" in addition to the internationally-recognised criteria for patentability (novelty, inventive step, and industrial application), it added.
"India's Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) also upheld the 2012 decision of the Controller-General of Patents, Designs, and Trademarks to effectively require an innovator to manufacture in India in order to avoid being forced to license an invention to third parties," the report said.

Following years of bilateral and multilateral engagement, the US initiated a WTO dispute in February 2013 challenging local content requirements in India's national solar policy.

India introduced new, expanded local content requirements in its national solar policy in October 2013, it said.
"Because further engagement failed to address US concerns with these new local content requirements, the United States included them in a WTO dispute filed in February 2014," the USTR said.
The National Trade Estimate Report provides an inventory of the most important foreign barriers affecting US exports of goods and services, foreign direct investment by US persons, and protection of intellectual property rights.
Such an inventory enhances awareness of these trade restrictions and facilitates negotiations aimed at reducing or eliminating these barriers, said the report, which covers significant barriers, whether they are consistent or inconsistent with international trading rules.

This report discusses the largest export markets for the US, including 58 countries, the European Union, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and one regional body.