Sharma slams US `protectionism' at trade forum

Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma today expressed India's concern over the trade-restrictive and protectionist policies adopted by the United States in recent times.

At a closed-door meeting with US trade representative Ron Kirk, Sharma is reported to have raised the issue of the executive order of Ohio state governor imposing restrictions on outsourcing as also the border security legislation that directly impacts Indian software companies and increases their costs by millions of dollars.

"Protectionism kills growth and innovation. In order to ensure that we continue our high growth trajectories, we have to be strong to resist domestic calls and pressures to increase barriers to trade," the minister said.

Co-chairing the ministerial of the Indo-US Trade Policy Forum (TPF) at Washington DC yesterday, Sharma, in fact, stressed the need for a totalisation agreement between India and the US to support growth in the service sector.

Addressing a meeting of the Private Sector Advisory Group (PSAG), both Sharma and Kirk highlighted the importance of small and medium-sized companies in maximising trade and investment flows between the two countries.

"Through cooperative engagement in this area, we will be able to provide sustained employment, higher incomes, and other critical economic benefits," Sharma said.