India to oppose U.S. roadblocks to BPO

Wednesday, 11 June 2003, 19:30 IST
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NEW YORK: The proposal by some American states to ban outsourcing of IT-enabled services to India amounts to market denial and New Delhi will strongly pursue this with the U.S. Visiting Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Arun Jaitley said this Tuesday on the sidelines of a meeting at the Asia Society here. "This (U.S. roadblocks to business process outsourcing or BPO) is an issue of great importance to us. We are going to definitely take this up with the U.S. Trade Representative," Jaitley told IANS. Jaitley, who also holds the portfolio of law and justice, is in the U.S. to promote Indo-American trade and economic relations, and is accompanied by a high-powered official-cum-business delegation. The delegation includes commerce secretary Dipak Chatterjee, additional secretary S.N. Menon, and senior members of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). According to official sources, the subjects that are to figure during official level talks between the two sides include anti-dumping action by the U.S. on Indian products such as steel and restoration of the generalised system of preferences for the pharmaceutical and chemicals industry. The agenda also includes discussion on the forthcoming Cancun, Mexico, meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), smooth dismantling of the textiles quota from December 31, 2004, and market access for India's services sector, especially in the software sector, according to the sources. Interacting with the media at the Indian consulate here earlier, Jaitley said India had developed expertise in BPO and was offering cost-effective solutions to several countries. "The move by some American states has not become law yet," the minister said, adding: "But we believe it is not in consonance with the current spirit of international trade." He said it was unfortunate that such proposals were being considered when developed countries were seeking greater access to markets in the developing world. Jaitley said the main purpose of his visit was to give a boost to Indo-U.S. economic and trade relations. Even though the U.S. was India's largest trading partner, the potential had not yet been fully realised. At a presentation at the Indian consulate he specifically invited U.S. companies to invest in newly created Special Economic Zones (SEZs), assuing them that the constraints they faced earlier in terms of regulations, concessions or procedural issues had been addressed. He said the government was even proposing to rationalise labour laws in these zones, adding that separate legislation on SEZs, proposed for introduction in Parliament soon, would tackle such issues. Jaitley also spoke of the resilience of the Indian economy, despite successive hardships. The gross domestic product, he said, had grown by over five percent last fiscal year and industrial production was up by over six percent despite the country having had to face one of the worst droughts in history. Even exports, he said, had topped 18 percent despite a global slowdown and an appreciation in the Indian rupee. Jaitley also said the reforms process was on track and the perceived delays, if any, were because India was a democracy of one billion people and arriving at a consensus often took time. During his stay here, Jaitley visited the New York Stock Exchange where he spoke about India's expertise in knowledge-based sectors such as biotechnology and IT. He also inaugurated a business centre at the Indian consulate, which is to facilitate flow of information for potential investors, as also help Indian corporate leaders during their visits to New York.
Source: IANS
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