Shri Anand Sharma, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry during his meeting with the US Secretary of Commerce Mr. Gary Locke in Washington DC yesterday, highlighted the concerns on the US export control regime as applicable to India and sought their early removal prior to the forthcoming visit of President Obama to India.

He also urged US support for India’s membership of multilateral export control regimes and emphasized the need for pruning of the US entity list to remove Indian government entities. Both leaders reviewed the progress in the India – US bilateral trade and investment relations and also discussed the outlook for the global economy. 

Shri Sharma raised the issue of visas for Indian professionals and skilled workers and emphasized the need for an active dialogue with the end objective of launching negotiations on a Totalization Agreement. He pointed out that due to the absence of such an agreement, Indian companies in the US were making double payments of social security, without getting any benefits.

He highlighted the contributions of Indian companies in the US economy and invited the US companies to participate in Indian infrastructure development projects. The areas where both sides could cooperate include education and development of standards in smart grid for energy efficiency. 

The issues that the US Commerce Secretary raised include India’s decision regarding local content requirements in connection with its National Solar Mission, mandatory transfer of technology in the telecom sector to Indian manufacturers within three years of selling equipment to any Indian operator and nuclear liability.