India to raise concern over protectionism

NEW DELHI, INDIA: India will raise its concern over the increasing protectionist policies in the United States at the upcoming G-20 meeting, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Friday.

"G-20 needs to coordinate policies in a manner that should ensure sustainable and balanced growth," Mukherjee said at a conference on G-20 issues organised by ICRIER.

He said G-20 member countries should work together to ensure financial stability and make international trade more open and transparent.

Mukherjee said India would lobby with other countries of the group to raise the issue of increasing tendencies of protectinism in some countries, especially in the United States.

The fifth summit of G-20 is scheduled to be held in South Korea on Nov 11 and 12. Finance ministers of the group of 20 countries will meet next month to outline the agenda for the meeting of the head of states.

Referring to the global economic crisis, Mukherjee said a coordinated effort should be made to overcome the crisis as no country was insulated from it.

He said the global economic crisis was turning out to be more broader and deeper than expected.

The US government recently announced a series of measures to curb outsourcing of business and boost demand for local products.

The state of Ohio in the US early this month said it would forbid outsourcing of IT services by government departments. The US has also increased visa fee by $2,000 for certain H-1B and $2,250 for L1 categories.

This will negatively affect the businesses of Indian IT companies which are dependent on the US for over 60 percent of their income.