“India will review a policy that gave preference to locally made electronics goods in government and private sector procurement, the government said on Monday after protests by trade groups representing global companies such as Apple Inc.,” Manoj Kumar reports for Reuters.
“Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Commerce Minister Anand Sharma will be in Washington this week for meetings with U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Trade Representative Michael Froman,” Kumar reports. “India’s federal cabinet last year approved the policy, known as preferential market access (PMA), citing national security.”
Kumar reports, “Last week, U.S.-based trade group the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) said a plan to include private sector purchases in the policy was inconsistent with World Trade Organization rules and suggested it was designed to protect local manufacturing. The ITI represents 52 companies, including Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, IBM and Intel Corp.”
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