A large number of American companies Monday urged Vice President Joe Biden, who is on a trip to India this week, to press New Delhi to change its trade policies which unfairly harm U.S. companies in India.
"Unfortunately, many U.S. companies are facing serious issues doing business in India," said the business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and some 40 other groups in an open letter to the vice president who is scheduled to meet with the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Tuesday.
"In the manufacturing, agriculture, telecommunications, biopharmaceutical, solar energy, entertainment, semiconductor, and other sectors, many companies face measures that are discriminatory, unfair, and/or inconsistent with international norms," said the business groups. "These issues are systemic, going far beyond any one industry sector."
In recent months, the business groups had repeatedly pleaded with the Obama administration to increase pressure on New Delhi's leaders to reverse the trade policies, which they said were "discriminative" and "harmful".
Indian Finance Minister P Chidambaram recently returned from a visit to the U.S. where he went to seek investments in to India.
Several high-level-delegate visits have been exchanged between the two countries and the two sides hailed the meetings as productive and successful. Biden's visit to New Delhi is also aimed at laying the groundwork for a summit between President Barack Obama and his counterpart Manmohan Singh in the U.S. in September-October.
"With the overwhelming support from Congress and critical U.S. industries, the vice president has a unique opportunity to show the administration's commitment to protecting U.S. innovative and creative sectors by raising this important issue during his high-level meetings in India," said the business groups.
In the letter, the American companies urged Biden to turn the successful and productive dialogues into productive action and concrete results.
