Commerce minister Anand Sharma voiced his concerns over the increasing trend of protectionism emanating from the US with his US counterpart Ron Kirk in a closed-door meeting. He said that for the two countries to continue its growth trajectories it was imperative that protectionist tendencies were curtailed. ?Protectionism kills growth and innovation. In order to ensure that we continue our high growth trajectories, we have to be strong to resist domestic calls and pressures to increase barriers to trade.?
He said that the executive order of the Ohio state governor to impose restrictions on outsourcing and the Border Security legislation would directly impact Indian software companies and increase their costs by millions of dollars. Sharma also stressed on the need for a Totalisation Agreement between India and the US that would go a long way towards supporting growth in the Services sector.
Sharma also expressed his disappointment over the delay in reaching a resolution on the Doha round. He attributed the slow progress in negotiations to the recent economic crisis. Sharma who is also accompanied by commerce secretary Rahul Khullar also said that the deepening of economic relations that it made no sense to keep Indian companies in the entities list. ?The issue of export controls particularly the need to removal of Indian entities after the understanding and agreements that the two countries have reached in strategic field in particular was raised earlier. It did figure, not in the trade policy form, but in the closed bilateral,? Sharma said.