The Hindu : U.S. official wants India to improve investment climate

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 07, 2002

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U.S. official wants India to improve investment climate

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI MAY 6. The U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Market Access and Compliance, William H. Lash III, today said successful bilateral dialogue and not mere adherence to WTO rules was the key to greater market access for trade between India and America.

While the WTO was effective in putting in place low tariff rates, it was the bilateral dialogue that prevented non-tariff barriers from cropping up, he said, while addressing a meeting organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here. For strengthening trade links between the two countries a U.S. trade delegation is supposed to visit India every four months to enhance bilateral relations, he said, adding that this would definitely help better bilateral ties.

On the issue of labour and environment standards being linked to trade policies in the WTO, he said an increase in trade would automatically lead to better standards via an increase in the per capita income.

He also said that the amount of foreign investment inflows had a direct bearing on the levels of trade in a country and hence it was imperative for India to step up efforts to attract more inflows by improving the prevailing investment climate. The success of Indian entrepreneurs abroad was a

testimony to the native entrepreneurial talent. However, there was a need to simplify and

expedite the process of setting up new businesses in India by reducing bureaucratic hassles. The slow pace of reforms was one of the primary obstacles that would have to be overcome to make India a super-economic power, he added.

He also said that enforcement of patents and copyrights was an area of possible synergy between the U.S. and India. Effective enforcement patent laws was important in the Indian context because not only would it prevent the loss of Indian intellectual property, but also send a positive signal to the international community.

Earlier S. N. Menon, Additional Secretary, Minister of Commerce, observed that the Indo-U.S. relations were in a vibrant phase and although, the U.S. was already India's largest trading partner there was tremendous potential for enhancing the value of trade.

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