New Delhi: India rolled back a decision to impose import restrictions on laptops, tablets, and certain types of computers after pushback from the World Trade Organisation and the US, Reuters reported on Thursday (March 21).
In August 2023, the Union government had imposed import curbs on laptops, tablets, and certain types of computers, citing “security reasons” and the need to promote domestic manufacturing. However, few weeks later, it rolled back the decision.
The earlier move that had rattled several companies, including US-based Apple, Dell, and HP.
The US State Department had called the move as “highly protectionist and out of sync with the progress India has made in improving the investment environment.”
In October 2023, the US, China and Korea had raised concerns over India’s move in a WTO meeting.
On August 26, 2023, days after the import restriction policy was announced, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai met commerce minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi.
A USTR briefing paper, according to Reuters, said that although Tai “raised concerns” about the policy and “noted” that stakeholders needed to be consulted, she privately told Goyal during the meeting that the US wanted India to “rescind the requirement”.
India’s “surprise” announcement “prompts US and other firms to think twice about doing business in India,” said the “talking points” of her briefing paper, the news agency reported.
At the same time, a US diplomat for trade in New Delhi, Travis Coberly, told his USTR colleagues that Indian officials had conceded the sudden rollout of the laptop licensing policy was a mistake, the news agency reported.
India’s IT ministry “understands they (India) screwed up. They admitted as much. American companies here have been hammering them about this,” he wrote.
However, three Indian officials, including two from the commerce ministry who spoke on condition of anonymity since they were not authorised to comment, told Reuters that New Delhi did not reverse its policy under any US pressure. It reversed the decision as it realised local manufacturing of laptops and tablets wasn’t significant at this stage.
The import licensing move wasn’t the only policy that irked Washington. Several of the Modi government’s policies, including requiring Mastercard and Visa to store data locally and stringent e-commerce rules impacting Amazon among others firms, have also drawn criticism.
The emails reviewed by Reuters show HP told the USTR the laptop licensing “policy (and its goal)” is “very problematic”.
“Despite our very wide Made in India portfolio, this would have significant impact on HP sales in India,” its head of global policy and strategy, Amy Burke, wrote in an email.
