US business groups are lobbying for strong action against India which they say is a serious violator of intellectual property rights.On top of the bitter diplomatic row over the arrest of an Indian diplomat last year it risks a further deterioration in bilateral ties.
Speakers: Shekhar Gupta editor-in-chief of The Indian Express newspaper; Dr Amitendu Palit, visiting senior research fellow, National University of Singapore
SNOWDON: Some US business groups are very unhappy with India.
Their anger is often directed at India's generic drug industry which provides affordable medicines outside of patents.
They say India is one of the worst offenders for pirated software. Its domestic content rules for the solar industry and its steel exports threaten US jobs.
US Manufacturers want India designated as a Priority Foreign Country and that could lead to trade sanctions.
Dr Amitendu Palit, visiting senior research fellow, at the National University of Singapore says India has been on the watch list for some time and wont be worried.
PALIT: In fact you would find not only India there but also China and a country like Thailand and several other countries.
SNOWDON: Shekhar Gupta editor-in-chief of The Indian Express newspaper says India's growing export clout is the reason for US disquiet.
GUPTA: Because when the relationship was much smaller these things did not matter that much. Or when the relationship was more onesided these things did not matter. But India is now a sizeable exporter of skilled services or of value added products so there are tensions.
SNOWDON: It's unlikely the issues of trade will be sorted out soon.
Amitendu Palit says India won't back down and disagreements will be a feature of the relationship.
PALIT: Some of these are going to be very difficult to wash under the carpet and I think the issues like intellectual property on which there have been long differences between India and the US is going to remain there for a considerable period of time.
SNOWDON: Even with the signing of the historic nuclear accord in 2006 US industry was unhappy over the restrictions against it.
Over several years the two trading partners have lodged 14 cases with the World Trade Organisation. They also don't agree on climate change.
But dire predictions that the important strategic partnership between Washington and New Delhi are shaky are probably exaggerated.
Amitendu Palit says the relationship will withstand the stresses.
PALIT: So when we look at the larger geopolitical spectrum I think both India and the US will obviously take note of the fact that this is a relationship that's important not only for the two of them but also for the greater stability of the region and the rest of the world. So to that extent they will obviously work on ensuring that their relationship does not under any circumstances gets to a point where it creates greater instability or brings in a sense of disharmony that kind of upsets the geopolitical equilibrium. But at the same time I think its pretty clear at least as far as India is concerned, there are certain areas where India is not willing to budge as easily as it might have done in the past.
SNOWDON: As to the latest trade dispute, and the possibility of India being listed as the worst of intellectual property offenders Shekhar Gupta thinks there's a lot of hot air around the issue.
GUPTA: I think some of what's happening in Washington is bullshit. It's bullshitting also for the sake of their own domestic industry, their pressure groups there. So I think this will be resolved through negotiation I think Indian companies are very strong now. They also have lobbying power in New Delhi, so this is lobbying power verses lobbying power.
Source:- radioaustralia.net.au
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