| Date: |
02-04-2016 |
| Subject: |
US whine: Curbs slapped on pork to dairy exports to India |
|
NEW DELHI: The US list of complaints over India's import regime has grown longer. From the "restrictions" on pork imports, dairy products that come only from vegetarian-fed animals to the ban on animal testing for cosmetics and restrictions on additives in alcohol, the US Trade Representative's annual report has listed a host of new curbs faced by American businesses across the globe.
Unlike recent years, however, the tone seems to be reconciliatory be it on intellectual property rights (IPR) or the overall approach to remove the so-called barriers to trade — which can range from technical barriers such as testing of cosmetics on animals to tests related to pesticides or import duty and government procurement.
In most of the cases, the report talks about irritants in the Trade Policy Forum, which is co-chaired by India's commerce & industry minister and the USTR.
Over the past few years, IPR had been a key theme with the US authorities, after India issued compulsory licence for producing a medicine on which Bayer held a patent. Similarly, Big Pharma has been putting pressure on the patents office to issue patents even in case of "tweaks" orwhatisgenerallydescribedas" ever-greening".
In the latest report, however, the US appeared bullish on the proposed IPR policy and amendments to the copyright law and Cinematograph Act, although there were concerns over the planned expedited patent review coming with the condition of local manufacturing requirements. Trade secrets misappropriation was another area of worry for the USTR.
In case of services, the report was critical of the new insurance guidelines with the new definition of foreign control being flagged as a worry along with restrictions on overseas banks, retail and the government's inability to open up.
Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com
|