Indo-US talks on easing tech trade curbs

WASHINGTON: Senior U.S. and Indian officials will meet this week to work on reducing American controls on exports to India to reflect closer bilateral ties, a US Commerce Department official said.

The meetings on Thursday and Friday of US-India High Technology Cooperation Group, which also include business leaders, will address Indian concerns about American export controls and US concerns about proliferation, Assistant Secretary of Commerce Christopher Padilla told reporters.

"There continues to be a perception in India, particularly among Indian business, that sanctions continue to limit high-tech exports to India, and in fact, the point that we want to make is that very few U.S. exports to India require licenses any longer," he said.

The United States imposed curbs on sales of dual-use technology -- industrial items with military applications -- to pro-Soviet India during the Cold War. In 1998, Washington imposed a raft of restrictions following tit-for-tat nuclear bomb tests by India and Pakistan.

Padilla said that while one quarter of U.S. technology items required advanced approval for export to India in 1999, now only 1 percent do. Average licensing time for US technology exports to India is now the same as that for Britain, Israel or France, he added.

This week's meetings in Washington, led by Deputy Commerce Secretary David Sampson and Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, will tackle policies that "reflect the old nature of our relationship with India, not the new nature of our relationship with India," Padilla said.

The United States and India took a huge leap in relations in 2005, when visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President George W. Bush signed a host of agreements, including a controversial deal which, when finalized, would allow US sales of civilian nuclear power equipment to India.

Padilla said Washington has identified Indian companies in information technology, semiconductor manufacturing and aerospace that will be eligible for the US "Trusted Customer Program," which streamlines licensing for companies with good records of compliance with nonproliferation treaties.

Washington wants New Delhi to "continue to close the gaps in its control lists" to bring India's curbs on exports of dual-use technology in line with those of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Australia Group and the Wassenaar Arrangement, he said.