Rajya Sabha passes the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2009.

10.08.2010 (UNI) The Rajya Sabha passed by a voice vote the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2009, to provide for development and regulation of Foreign Trade by facilitating imports and augmenting exports from the country.

Moving the Bill for consideration, Minister for Commerce Anand Sharma said the Bill enables imposition of quantitative restrictions and brings in tighter exports or trade control concerning dual use of goods and related technologies for controlling weapons of mass destruction and delivery systems.

The Minister said there was no ambiguity regarding the list of dual use imports whether it is chemicals or technology or services.

‘The list is public, clearly notifying what could be traded and what could not be,’ he said.

He said the amendments would also enable to impose safeguard measures for domestic industry offering a level playing field against any surge of imports in the country.

The Bill was in conformity with the Foreign Trade Policy and India’s commitments to the WTO, the Minister said.

Replying to the discussion on the Bill, Mr Sharma said the low growth in agriculture and manufacturing was a matter of concern and the Government was doing its best to protect the interests of these sectors in the multilateral negotiations.

Responding to the concerns of the members regarding prolonged negotiations with certain countries, he said such parleys were needed to ensure that the country was not isolated on the global level. Discussions on the country’s interests were being carried out by sector specific experts with their foreign counterparts.

‘The negotiations are based on mandate given by the Techno economic relations council (TERC) headed by the Prime Minister. Once the negotiations are through, it would come before the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) for approval,’ he said.

Allaying the fears of the members that the country would be swamped by FDI by multinational companies (MNCS), the Minister said, ‘it is a two way process and it is Indian companies which are taking over companies in the West through mergers and acquisitions.

Who could have thought that the companies like Corus or global auto brands like Jaguar would be taken over by TATA’s.’ The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in November last year. UNI

Source : indlawnews.com