U.S. launches probe into Indian trade practices

A U.S. Federal agency has launched an investigation into Indian trade policies, which allegedly discriminate against American trade and investment.

The investigation, “Trade, investment and industrial policies in India: effects on the U.S. economy”, was requested jointly by the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committee on Ways and Means.

The United States International Trade Commission (USITC) will report on recent policies and measures in India that affect U.S. exports and investment, and evaluate the effects of such barriers on U.S. firms and the economy, the federal agency has said in a statement.

In its examination, the USITC will enumerate restrictive trade and investment policies that India maintains or has recently adopted and determine which sectors of the U.S. economy are most affected by these policies. The USITC will provide several case studies of U.S. firms or industries that have been particularly affected by India’s restrictions.

As requested, by the Congress, the USITC will also perform a quantitative analysis of the effects of such measures.

The USITC will survey a sample of U.S. firms to measure perceptions of India’s policies and the impact of those policies on firms’ strategies toward India. The survey results will complement the quantitative analysis of the effects of these policies on trade, investment, and the U.S. economy.