India urged to promote private sector

Tuesday, 06 April 2004, 19:30 IST
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WASHINGTON: India must provide greater incentive to private players if it wants to attract more investment and increase its trade, US Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Kenneth Juster has said. The US is currently the single largest market for Indian goods, yet "the potential exists for much more trade and investment and it's just not occurring", Juster told a conference on "U.S.-India Bilateral Cooperation: Taking Stock and Moving Forward", organised by the Elliot School of International Affairs at the George Washington University. Juster attributed the unfulfilled trade and investment potential to two factors - the "perception" among US businessmen that the Indian market is hindered by bureaucratic red tape, trade barriers and the real need for India to accelerate the pace of lowering tariffs and simplifying customs procedures. He said he wanted to see India create more incentives for the private sector to improve the country's economic infrastructure. Also, because India is not a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), it is restricted from receiving US exports of certain high technology products and services. Juster said the next steps in strategic partnership (NSSP) plan agreed to by President George W. Bush and Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in January 2004 marked "a framework for a takeoff" in bilateral relations through expanded cooperation in civilian nuclear activities and space programmes, and high technology trade. Saying that the NSSP takes into account the trade barriers, Juster said the plan outlined "several phases of reciprocal steps to enable the US to ease its licensing requirements and other technology transfers while ensuring that our non-proliferation commitments and policies are intact."
Source: IANS
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