Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal highlighted the challenges faced by Indian businessmen coming to the US due to delays in visa processing and asked the US to enhance processing.
The Union government on Friday asked the US to increase the number of US Food and Drug Administration inspections in India to boost pharmaceutical exports and reiterated its long-standing need to restore the system of preferences (GSP) for easier access to goods in the US, according to a joint statement from the Trade Policy Forum on Friday.
Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal highlighted the challenges faced by Indian businessmen coming to the US due to delays in visa processing and asked the US to enhance processing. Visa delays for Indians have hit record levels in the wake of Covid-19, causing severe disruption for IT professionals working in the US.
At the same time, the United States imposed several trade measures introduced by India to limit imports of low-cost quality goods, including the Quality Control Order (QCO) and the Computerized Import Monitoring System. portable, which some countries consider commercial. fence. These measures were introduced mainly to limit imports from China in the context of the growing trade deficit.
“Ministers reiterate their commitment to ensuring that technical regulations, such as quality control orders (QCOs), do not create unnecessary barriers to trade by providing adequate opportunities Consult with relevant stakeholders and ensure that relevant national standards are consistent with international standards wherever possible, said the press release.
The two countries discussed the over-reliance and lack of diversity of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), important drug input materials, in the global pharmaceutical supply chain. India has identified API manufacturing as a sector of strategic importance and has started production under the PLI programme.
The joint statement said the two governments have agreed to establish a roadmap for India and the US to jointly recognize the results of recognized conformity assessment bodies. This comes as several Indian exports are being rejected in the US due to differences between US and Indian standards.
“This will allow laboratories and conformity assessment bodies to certify that products comply with certain standards. This will eliminate duplicate testing requirements and reduce compliance costs when selling high-quality products. Ministers are committed to identifying priority areas of mutual interest for implementation and establishing a Joint Facilitation Mechanism (JFM) for these areas, the terms of reference of which will be finalized at the earliest,” it said. Dad said.
“India has emphasized the need to increase the number of inspections carried out by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in India to facilitate trade and further reduce delays. late. The United States appreciates India’s comments, noting that the US FDA has increased staffing to enhance pharmaceutical testing conducted by the agency,” the joint statement said.
United States Trade Ambassador (USTR) Katherine Tai raised the issue of India’s new requirements for imports of computers, tablets and servers.
“She also welcomed the fact that India has implemented the “Import Management System for Specified IT Hardware” in an enabling manner that has so far minimized the impact on trade and urged India to ensure that The end-to-end online system is now operational and the policies do not restrict future trade,” the statement said.
India lost GSP in 2019 when former US President Donald Trump began introducing sweeping trade measures citing a widening trade deficit with India and China. Trump’s trade war has hurt New Delhi, which was the biggest beneficiary of GSP status in 2017, with $5.7 billion of imports into the United States enjoying duty-free status. “Secretary Goyal reiterated India’s interest in restoring beneficiary status under the US Generalized Program of Preferences. Ambassador Tai noted that this may be considered, if warranted, based on eligibility criteria determined by the United States Congress,” the statement said.
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