Policies protecting domestic industry will harm India, warns US

The US Monday said it has concerns over India's business environment, cautioning that the policies designed to protect the domestic industry would eventually harm them.

"We encourage India to address concerns that many have about its business environment. In particular, there is increasing concern about some recent action that seems to tilt the playing field," US Under Secretary for International Trade Francisco Sanchez said at a CII event in Delhi.

Giving an example of India's national solar mission which requires domestic sourcing of contents, Sanchez said, "my concern is that many of the policies designed to protect Indian industries will only hurt them in the end".

He said this type of policy decisions "seems to tilt the playing field here in India away from US businesses and other foreign firms".

Sanchez, who is leading a high-level US business delegation said, India's recent policy directions and proposals limit its markets to develop domestic manufacturing capacity.

The delegation comprises Azure Power, Serious Energy, A123 Systems, Amonix Inc, Picarro Inc and Sopogy Inc.

"For example in clean technology, local content requirement (LCR) explicitly discriminates against the imports," he said.

Besides meeting the industry leaders, Sanchez is scheduled to meet senior government officials, including Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar, during his visit.

The US trade official said, the LCR system denies Indian companies accessing quality solar products from outside the country.

"With the path India appears to be following, will force India to miss out innovative products. I believe, it could end up hindering growth and results in missed opportunities," he cautioned.