India to move WTO against entities list

NEW DELHI, Nov 15 (PTI) —India will lodge a “strong protest” at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and to the United States Government against the US decision to blacklist 40 Indian entities along with their 200 subsidiaries from having business link with American companies.

“We will lodge a strong protest against the US action since it is particularly not consistent with the WTO policies and regulations”, Commerce Minister Ramakrishna Hegde said.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the inaugural session of the G-77 trade conference here, Hegde said the blacklisting of Indian companies would have “no impact” on the Indian exports.

“The move perhaps is in the interest of the United States rather than against India’s”, he said.

Hegde said the ‘entities list’ was expected to evoke more protests among the US businessmen and the US Congress as it was against the interests of US firms having large business interest in India.

“Three months ago there was strong lobbying and protests among the US business community and some of the congressmen. This time too I hope there would be similar reaction”, Hegde said.

To a query whether the latest US action would hurt India’s exports, the minister said, “we are more concerned about the global recession than the US sanctions.”

The Commerce Minister said India would find other markets than the US to exports its goods.

“US is not the only market, there are other markets as well to export our goods”, he said.

The minister categorically denied that the slump in country’s exports was due to sanctions, saying “this was more due to the global recession, particularly in the South East Asian countries”.

Hegde said the 'entities list' barring Indian firms from sourcing their requirements would not affect country's atomic programmes as they could be sourced from other countries.

He hoped that relations between the two countries would improve after the talks between Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's special envoy, Jaswant Singh, and US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott on nuclear issue in Rome on November 19.

Answering a question about how India would "reciprocate" the US action, Hegde said "the Cabinet will decide".

Commerce Secretary P.P. Prabhu said it was too early to comment on the impact of the US action on India's exports saying "the publication of entities list is more symbolic".

The Nuclear Power Corporation of India, Bharat Earth Movers Limited, Indian Space Research Organisation, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research are among 40 Indian entities along with their 200 subsidiaries barred by the USA from having any business link with American companies.