Thom Tillis, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, has written U.S Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer asking him to “prioritize strong intellectual property protections” in a trade agreement currently under negotiation with India. His letter states that “India has an unusually restrictive market when it comes to biopharmaceutical innovations,” and notes that it is regularly included in the Special 301 Report.
The U.S. and India have been in trade negotiations regarding USTR’s suspension of Generalize System of Preferences (GSP) trade benefits in early 2019. The Economic Times reports that “under the GSP, the country had exported goods worth $6.3 billion (as per USTR figures) to the US, accounting for around 12.1% of India’s total export to the US in 2018. The average duty concession accruing from GSP was almost $240 million in 2018.”
In the negotiations, India is seeking the reinstatement of GSP benefits for the $6.3 billion worth of exports to the U.S., as well as market access for grapes and mangoes and removal of higher duties on metals. The U.S. wants the removal of price controls on coronary stents and knee implants, the mutual withdraw of WTO disputes, lower duties on motorcycles and some agricultural goods, and lower tariffs on American ICT products. Inside U.S. Trade reports that this “initial, limited deal has been close to fruition for months,” yet the two sides have not clenched a deal.
In comments to the Senate Finance Committee in June, Lighthizer indicated that the U.S. would like to see more of a commitment to IP reform from India in the context of the negotiations: “We are working to secure a trade package that resolves longstanding market access issues, including reduction of tariff rates on key U.S. agricultural and industrial exports, and to ensure progress in other areas, such as intellectual property protection and digital trade. While we have made some progress on key market access concerns, we are still working to achieve a package that is equitable and adequately addresses relevant trade barriers to ensure India meets the GSP eligibility criteria.”
