Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: US Trade Representative Katherine Tai on January 13 asked India to ensure the nation’s new import requirements for tech hardware such as laptops and tablets does not impede trade in future.
Tai, who is on a three-day visit to India, discussed issues ranging from business visas for Indian workers to duty-free access on goods with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.
While the import management system has minimised the impact on businesses, she urged ‘India to ensure that the end-to-end online system currently in operation and related policies do not restrict trade going forward,’ according to a joint statement.
In October last year, India said it will allow imports of tech hardware without a mandatory, softening curbs it had previously planned to impose.
Under the new plan, some of the world’s biggest technology companies including Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. need to register for the import management system, and authorizations, based on the value of shipments, that will be valid until the end of September 2024.
