China on January 7 raised “deep concerns” with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over India’s increased foreign direct investment (FDI) scrutiny due to concern about takeover and acquisition of Indian companies, The Times of India reported.
India in April 2020 increased reviews for FDI by neighbouring countries – largely aimed at Chinese investments. China’s statement came during WTO review of India’s trade policy after the United States and European Union (EU) flagged issues like increase in import duties, the report added.
The three-day review meet will end on January 8.
The US in particular pointed out that India’s average tariff has risen to 17.6 percent from 13.5 percent in 2015 and would not facilitate India’s integration into the global supply chain, sources told the paper.
Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.
The EU meanwhile said it was “concerned about the continued trend of new barriers to trade, which have been amplified due to the COVID-19 crisis.” It mentioned gaps in intellectual property rights protection, cumbersome product standards, unpredictable trade procedures and narrow access to government procurement as concern areas.
Other areas under focus included import restrictions in IT and telecom products, minimum retail price facility for farmers, and requirement of local content as per Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan talked about India’s MSP programme stating that food security is still an issue for the country. He also said India is “committed to ensure access to vaccines for all” and the country’s production and delivery capacity “will be used in full measure for this.”
He also sought a temporary waiver of certain TRIPS obligations to facilitate India and South Africa’s joint proposal for “timely and affordable availability of diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines for COVID.”