India is to lodge a "strong protest" with the US Government and World Trade Organisation (WTO) over the Clinton Administration's decision barring 40 Indian entities and 200 subsidiaries from trading with US companies, the Commerce Minister, Mr. Ramakrishna Hegde, said today. The final decision on reciprocating against the move would be taken by the Union Cabinet, Mr.Hegde told newspersons. The ‘entities list’ barring Indian entities and their subsidiaries from trading with the US was released by the Clinton Administration late on Friday night.

Revamp commission likely for PSU banks

The Government has initiated discussions for setting up a Restructuring Commission for the banking industry. The proposed commission would be entrusted with the task of looking into the structural issues relating to the public sector banks, including mergers or closure of weak banks. The setting up of a body to deal with the problem of weak banks was suggested by the Narasimham Committee on Banking Sector Reforms, which submitted its report in April 1988.

APEC settles for compromise pact

Trade ministers of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum reached a compromise, non-binding agreement to cut tariffs across nine industries, said Mr. Rosario Manalo, the Philippine Undersecretary for foreign affairs. "It's an agreement with so much flexibility," Mr. Manalo said minutes after the group ended three days of haggling over the proposed pact. "It may be good on paper but not realised in implementation." The question of when tariffs were cut on chemicals and eight other product areas would be decided later, through the WTO. .

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