High-tech trade with US not up to mark

India said that its high-technology cooperation with the US has underperformed in commercial sectors,and called for increased focus on research and development,design,joint production and commercialisation.

India on Monday said that its high-technology cooperation with the US has underperformed in commercial sectors,and called for increased focus on research and development,design,joint production and commercialisation.

There is a shared perception that HTCG has in a sense underperformed and underachieved,especially in commercial sectors, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said at the eighth meeting of the India-US High Technology Cooperation Group HTCG here. While the focus has been on conventional trade and market access,we must now focus equally on promoting cooperation in research and development,design,commercialisation and production, said Rao.

Rao held talks with Eric L Hirschhorn,US Under Secretary for Industry and Security,and discussed issues relating to expanding trade in dual-use technologies.

The HTCG was set up in 2002 for promoting high-technology trade between India and the US by addressing systematic barriers.

Rao said the two sides must not only focus on barriers to trade but on expanding commercial opportunities. In the defence sector,she said,India would focus on building national capacity through joint production,joint research and development and transfer of technology.

The regulatory framework in both countries should evolve in a manner that facilitates trade and expands opportunities for collaboration in defence equipment and services, she said.

She exhorted the two sides to explore innovative models to harness opportunities in aviation,aircraft and aircraft components,air traffic management,repairs and maintenance,aviation safety and security and capacity building.

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The US chose to focus on tariff and non-tariff barriers and pressed India to remove these to ease procurement processes to increase bilateral defence and high-tech cooperation. India has embarked on a military modernisation programme,which is expected to receive 35 billion over the next five years, said Hirschhorn. We must find new ways to break down tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade that stifle cooperation, Hirschhorn added. He said the US companies have got contracts worth 8 billion from India in the last few years,but stressed that theres enough room to grow this business.