NEWSLINKS US EDITION SOUTH ASIA COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL DEAR REDIFF THE STATES ELECTIONS ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
T V Parasuram in Washington
India should accelerate the pace of economic reforms and create an attractive business climate to increase the flow of foreign investment, speakers at a conference in Washington have said.
Terming the influx of Foreign Direct Investment into India as 'very disappointing', US Secretary of Commerce Samuel W Bodman said Indian tariffs 'are high and irrational' despite cuts and the government protection for intellectual property is 'not what it should be'.
The level of FDI from the US in India is only $1.3 billion.
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee during his visit to the United States last year wanted the level of annual American investment to be raised to $10 billion from $400 million in 2000.
"But this can be achieved only if further steps are taken to create an increasingly attractive and supportive business climate in India," Bodman said at the US-India Trade and Technology Conference.
On intellectual property rights, he said that a legislation is under consideration in India. "But our analysis of that legislation is that it falls short of obligations under the Trade Related Intellectual Property or TRIPS agreement to which India is a signatory," he said.
Former Deputy Trade Representative Susan Esserman said, "For countries actively involved in the trading of technology goods and services, such as India, the dramatic pace of economic and technological change does not allow the luxury of time."
Moreover, other emerging economies, including those in Asia that are already more integrated into the world economy, are moving to expand their presence in high-tech fields where India is prominent, Esserman said.
"In this regard, China's accession to the WTO, its dramatic economic reforms and expanding profile in the high-tech sector should underscore the need for bold initiatives to be undertaken by India," she said.
Esserman said that governments of both India and the US have undertaken important initiatives to promote increased economic links between them.
Recently, the US lifted most of the sanctions and expanded the Generalised Special Preference duty-free treatment to over $500 million of Indian exports.
However, she said, more can be done on both sides to support and promote the dynamism of their private sectors and realise the full potential for trade and investment between the two countries.
Tell us what you think of this report
