Waiting for April 30th report.
By The American Bazaar Staff
NEW DELHI: Conflict between the US and India over intellectual property laws has escalated yet again, with India declaring that they are willing to take the US to the World Trade Organization (WTO) if the latter puts India on the Priority Foreign Country list for intellectual property rights violations.
The Office of the US Trade Representative is set to release its annual Special 301 Report at the end of the month, in which it is expected to outline possible economic sanctions against India that will severely curb the amount of trade and commerce between the two countries.
Among the provisions being considered, according to reports, are an immediate cease of all duty-free benefits, and penal duties. PTI also reports that the US could take away benefits allotted by the Generalized System of Preferences, which imposes lower tariffs on Indian goods sold in the US.
The intellectual property concerns trace mainly to India’s pharmaceutical industry, which has been getting hit from all corners over the last year or so. If the US decides to place India as a Priority Foreign Country, that means India will join the list of the worst countries around the world when it comes to intellectual property rights, and could have huge economic implications for the country.
India, therefore, stands to lose a lot from such action by the US. Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth said here that high-level government officials are actively discussing the next course of action with this problem, and are not afraid of going to the WTO to settle the dispute, saying that India is in full compliance with international standards and should not be punished unjustly for something it hasn’t done.
Back in January, India’s aviation sector was also lowered by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to Category II, as a result of several Indian airlines not meeting safety regulations.
Indian industry has been repeatedly attacked by the US over the last year, especially the pharmaceutical industry, and there is currently a pending case with the WTO, filed by the US against India, regarding the latter’s solar energy program, which the US alleges is unfairly shutting out American companies in favor of domestic ones.
For now, the Indian Ambassador to the US S. Jaishankar is asking the US government to negotiate directly with the Indian pharmaceutical companies, rather than engage the Indian government as a whole, who he says has done all it can to comply with US requests. The next step in this escalating situation will come on April 30, when the Special 301 Report comes out.
5 Comments
yeah, no intellectual property theft going on in india, I’m sure of it. The proof: I dare you to find any “intellectual anything” in india…if they were stealing intellect, you would see evidence of it all around in india. I’m going to side with india on this one, not a sign of any intellect in india, stolen or otherwise
yeah, no intellectual property theft going on in india, I’m sure of it. The proof: I dare you to find any “intellectual anything” in india…if they were stealing intellect, you would see evidence of it all around in india. I’m going to side with india on this one, not a sign of any intellect in india, stolen or otherwise
Whoops. Guess India is figuring out that they might have overreacted on that Khobragade issue. They’ll figure out who fills the food and water bowls sooner or later.
Are you dumb? We fill our own food and water bowls! You are just a nuisance and a bully.
Lets see what our backbone less PM and equally backbone less MEA does!