India, US favour expanded trade in advanced technologies

Washington, Feb 23 (UNI) Indian and US officials have expressed their desire to capitalise on thriving strategic partnerships to boost bilateral trade in advanced technology products.

Addressing the US-India High Technology Cooperation Group here yesterday, Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon said both the countries should take advantage of significant steps taken by their leaders in 2006 to strengthen trade ties and elevate cooperation on high technology to a new level.

During US President George Bush's 2006 trip to India, the two countries signed several agreements and pledged to work to double by 2010 the two-way trade, which reached 32 billion dollars in 2006.

US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, who visited India early this month, said that the two countries were seeking closer cooperation in the aerospace, energy, environmental, biotechnology, medical, information technology and telecommunications industries.

''Few markets are more exciting or more significant than high tech in India,'' he said.

The group, established in 2002 to expand bilateral trade in controlled products that may have both commercial and military applications, is having a two-day meeting here to discuss further expansion of such trade. Such products are known as dual-use technologies.

Mr Gutierrez said, ''the United States sees many opportunities for US and Indian businesses to develop commercially viable technologies. US businesses are particularly interested in clean energy technologies and will send a trade mission to India in April to explore the potential for cooperation in this area.'' Deputy Secretary of Commerce David Sampson said India had gained far greater access to US technology in recent years. This was the result of ''sweeping changes'' in the US export control regime, which requires US companies to get licenses before they can sell to India certain advanced technology products with potential military applications.

As the US sales to India expanded from three billion dollars in 1999 to 10 billion dollars in 2006, the share of exports that required dual-use licenses plummeted from one-quarter to less than one per cent in the same period, according to the Commerce Department.

Mr Gutierrez, however, said that both sides need to continue to identify and remove obstacles to trade if they want trade flows to expand further.

He said his department hoped to launch in a few months a ''trusted customer'' programme, which would permit exports of certain advanced technology products for civilian use -- without the usually required licenses -- to companies in India with good records of compliance with non proliferation requirements.

From the Indian side, Mr Gutierrez pointed out, the administration was seeking further opening of key markets, reductions in tariffs and tougher enforcement of intellectual property rights.

A day earlier, Assistant Secretary of Commerce Chris Padilla told reporters that the administration had already identified as potential candidates for the programme a number of Indian companies in aerospace, chemical and semiconductor industries.

He said the administration did not expect huge increases in US sales to India stemming from this programme. The administration wanted the US export control regime to reflect better a closer relationship with India and further build up trust between the two countries and their business communities, he added.

In addition, Mr Padilla said, the administration would look closely into export control regulations to make sure that ''there aren't any vestiges of the past'' among them.

Relaxing any export controls requires consultations among several US agencies, he added.

UNI