The Hindu Business Line : `India must liberalise services regime'

THE US Coalition of Service Industries (CSI) has asked India to come up with a just, fair and equitable programme of liberalisation of services, particularly in the financial sector, so that meaningful negotiations can take place at India's insistence on the removal of barriers to services export.

Addressing an interactive meeting on the progress on liberalisation of services, organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Mr Norman Sorensen, Chairman, CSI, expressed `serious concern' of the US on the lack of balanced negotiations in services and pointed out that the onus was on India to bring forward its revised offer before the May 31 deadline. Mr Sorensen said the demonstration of India's willingness for substantive liberalisation in trade in services would enable the CSI to actively pursue India's case with the US Congress. He said the US was serious in its attempt to engage India in negotiations.

According to estimates, India is expected to become a world economic power in 10 years and, in the next 20 years, the services sector's contribution to GDP would rise to about 70 per cent.

With services growing in India at such a rapid pace, Mr Sorensen wondered why there was no coalition of services in India to look after the interests of its service sector.

Mr Robert Vastine, President, CSI, said India's offensive in outsourcing of services from the US was being appreciated there, but it was important for India to show its willingness to liberalise its financial services regime. He was responding to the issues raised by the FICCI past President, Mr Y.K. Modi, on Mode-4 relating to strict visa procedures, non-recognition of professional qualifications, and imposition of discriminatory standards or burdensome licensing requirements.

In his address, Mr Modi said the way forward in negotiation on trade in services was submission of initial offers by defaulting countries, improvement in the quality of offers, significant reduction in the range of barriers by developed countries against export of services from developing countries and change in attitude of the developed countries.

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