India is likely to raise the issue of a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) with the US, besides pushing for a totalisation agreement to protect the interests of Indian professionals working there. On his five-day visit to the US, commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma will also express New Delhi’s interest in sourcing LNG from the US.
?Finalising a totalisation agreement to protect the interests of our professionals, who contributed more than $1 billion annually to US Social Security system without availing any benefits in return. We are keen to restart negotiations on a bilateral totalization agreement,? says a background note of the commerce department.
Indian employees working in US do not have the benefits of social security, on account of the fact that work visas are issued for a maximum of six years, while eligibility for social security benefits in US requires residence of over 10 years.
The issue of a totalisation treaty is pending for long and has been highlighted consistently, but there has been no tangible progress. The contribution by Indian professionals to US Social Security is estimated to be more than $25 billion during the last decade and the Indian IT industry there contributes more than $1 billion annually by way of federal taxes.
Incidentally, both India and the US have entered into similar agreements with countries like Denmark, Belgium, Germany and Canada.
As for the BIT, the government in the process of revising its model BIT agreement to eliminate the prospects of investor-state disputes in future. ?We hope to have the revised model in place in a few months, after which we could resume our negotiations,? said a government official.
Sharma is also set to meet the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and discuss the US industry’s apprehensions regarding India’s policies on preference for domestic manufacturing, compulsory licensing decision, IPR and taxation issues. The US industry has been vocal about its complaints on these issues and has said that these policies were detrimental to the investment climate in India and making it difficult for the US companies to do business here.
Sources said that Sharma may raise certain issues of interest to India on which there has not been any progress despite them being raised by the government at senior levels. These relate to restrictions on mobility of India?s skilled professionals. While existing issues related to H1B/L1 visa fees increase, difficult visa grant process, increased processing times, and higher rejection rates have not been addressed, the new restrictive measures on skilled non-immigrant visas being discussed as part of broader immigration reform proposals are threatening business of Indian IT industry.
