USA Said India To support Tech Companies

The United States ambassador to India has written to top American technology firms assuring them of support for a level playing field in India, a letter seen by Reuters showed, amid Washington’s concerns over New Delhi’s protectionist policies.

Kenneth Juster last month wrote to the heads of leading U.S. technology companies in India, urging them to “participate personally” in discussions with government officials in New Delhi on data localization and e-commerce, issues that have soured trade ties between the two nations.

The US Embassy in New Delhi did not comment on the letter, but said US companies were the biggest source of foreign direct investment in India. “We hope that the Indian Government will pursue policies that create a welcoming and predictable environment for U.S. investors,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

The United States and big technology companies say India has taken a series of protectionist measures by imposing stricter foreign investment rules for the online retail sector and outlining plans to force companies to store more of their data locally.

The decisions have already dealt a blow to companies such as Amazon.com Inc, Walmart Inc, Mastercard and Visa, and the proposed data rules will also impact firms such as Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet Inc’s Google.

“The Government of India is seeking stakeholder input, and, given the importance of these issues, we strongly encourage you to participate personally in future meetings with the Minister and other senior officials,” Juster said in his letter.

It was not clear exactly how many companies received Juster’s letter, but the sources said at least four US technology firms had received it.

“It is not normal to get such letters, but these are not normal times,” said one of the executives.We hope that Usa didn’t sanctioned India and did not start another type of trade war.

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