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India again urges US to facilitate movement of Indian professionals
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SME Times News Bureau | 22 Oct, 2016
With the lack of a Totalisation Agreement continuing to hamper movement
of Indian professionals and experts to the US, India on Thursday
reiterated its call to the US to engage in negotiations for signing such
a pact.
"We very clearly identified this as one of the
non-tariff measures restricting the movement of IT professionals. We
have strongly urged the US to engage in negotiations for signing of a
Totalisation Agreement (Social Security agreement)," Commerce Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters in New Delhi.
She said this after a
delegation-level meeting with US Trade Representative Michael Froman as
part of the 10th India-US Trade Policy Forum.
"It is being heard and I hope there will be a positive response from their side," she said.
"The
two countries acknowledged the ongoing discussions on totalisation and
resolved to continue their engagement on the elements required in both
countries in order to pursue a bilateral Totalisation Agreement," a
joint statement after the meeting here said. A Totalisation
Agreement, which allows avoidance of double taxation, permits
professionals of both the countries to be exempted from social security
taxes when they go to work for a short period in the other country.
On
the issue of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), which has been a major
bone of contention between the two countries, Sitharaman said a lot of
efforts were being made to dispel the misconceptions of the US
delegation about the Indian patent regime.
"Both countries
emphasised the role of robust and balanced IPR protection in fostering
creativity, promoting innovation, and attracting investment, taking into
account the interests of all stakeholders, including the public," the
statement said.
Regarding compulsory licencing (CL), which the
US feels should only be used in the rarest of circumstances and not as a
matter of course, Sitharaman said India reminded the American
delegation that so far it has issued only one CL and after following a
due process.
A CL is used in case of a public health emergency to make available an expensive patented drug.
Sithraman
said the Indian side raised matters related to greater market access
for agricultural goods like grapes and mangoes and pharmaceutical
products.
"We find that in the US administration new laws are
brought up and new rules are made and they have different impact on our
trading, particularly I am referring to in the case of food and drugs,"
the Union Minister said.
On the question on investments, the
joint statement said: "Both sides agreed that creating a transparent,
predictable and open business environment that reduces administrative
burden and protects innovation is essential for attracting investment,
promoting manufacturing activity."
TPF is the bilateral forum for
discussion and resolution of trade and investment issues between the
two countries. It has five focus groups: agriculture, investment,
innovation and creativity (intellectual property rights), services, and
tariff and non-tariff barriers.
Delivering a talk here later on
Thursday, Froman said that certain areas in the Indian economy like
retail and financial services needed further opening up.
"There
needs to be continued work on improving the business environment if
India is going to attract the kind of investment - domestic and foreign -
to meet its aspirations," Froman said while delivering a talk on
Indo-US trade relations at the University of Chicago Centre.
"Liberalising
the retail, financial services and professional services sectors would
help create an open, non-discriminatory and predictable regime that
enhances the development of those markets," he said.
India-US bilateral trade was worth $109 billion in 2015-16.
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Customs Exchange Rates |
Currency |
Import |
Export |
US Dollar
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66.20
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64.50 |
UK Pound
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87.50
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84.65 |
Euro
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78.25
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75.65 |
Japanese
Yen |
58.85 |
56.85 |
As on 13 Aug, 2022 |
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