US wants preferential treatment, softer policies

Ahead of the strategic dialogue with India later this month, the US is pushing India hard to get preferential market access for its products and raising pitch against some Indian policies affecting American interests, Jayanth Jacob reports.

Ahead of the strategic dialogue with India later this month, the US is pushing India hard to get preferential market access for its products and raising pitch against some Indian policies affecting American interests.

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Close on the heels of US deputy secretary of state William Burns taking up these issues with Indian interlocutors here last month, some US senators and trade bodies too raked up these issues.

The US fears that Indian policies would threaten millions of jobs in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, IT and creative industries there.

US secretary of state John Kerry is scheduled to hold the fourth edition of the India-US strategic talks with external affairs minister Salman Khurshid in New Delhi on June 24. In a letter to President Barack Obama last week, the US Chamber of Commerce and 16 other business groups had alleged that India was discriminating against a wide range of US exports.

India will also be raising visa-related problems faced by its people in the US.