Key Indian Companies feel discriminated by Border Security Bill

The Indian government protested to Washington on Tuesday against what it called a highly discriminatory U.S. immigration bill that will double the cost of work visas for some high-profile Indian companies.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to bolster security along the Mexican border, grappling with the flow of illegal immigrants that has become an explosive issue ahead of November congressional elections.

The border security bill aims to fund the new measures by raising visa application fees on a select group of companies, which would affect some of the major IT companies in India.

India's Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma wrote to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk expressing serious concern over the proposed legislation.

"Though the need of the U.S. government to strengthen their border security is understandable, it is inexplicable to our companies to bear the cost of such a highly discriminatory law," he said, according to a government statement.

The Obama administration has urged passage of the $600 million program. Republicans also have been calling for a stronger border controls as well as a crackdown on illegal immigration. The bill passed the House on a voice vote.

But because of a legal technicality, it will have to return to the Senate, even though that chamber has approved an identical measure, before President Barack Obama can sign it into law. The Senate, however, is in its summer recess.

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, said it was hoped the bill could be passed by "consent" by the end of this week. Such a process would mean the entire Senate would not need to return to Washington, so long as party leaders agree.

Here is a related blog/ article on The Heritage Foundation site:

The Wrong Way to Deal With India - Derek Scissors, Ph.D.



Do as I say, don't do as I do. This is the message the Obama Administration and Congress are sending to fellow democracy India. While correctly pressing India to liberalize trade and investment, President Obama continues to hector India on outsourcing, and Congress has now transformed the talk into ugly action.



Last week, the President continued his portrayal of India as trying to take American jobs. A few days later, the Senate passed legislation requiring companies that hire a large number of high-skilled foreign workers to pay thousands more in fees for each one. This was intended to target certain Indian companies by constraining American access to them. Never mind that access to global markets makes America more competitive and ultimately creates more jobs and more wealth. This President and Congress are going with a simplistic-even patronizing-zero-sum argument that it's either them or us.



And as usual, when they have nothing to offer on an issue, they turn to blame someone else.

To be sure, India's own trade and investment policies are far from ideal and the U.S. has plenty of legitimate criticisms to level at New Delhi. But India is a consumer-oriented economy running a large trade deficit, not an export predator. There are strong reasons, in addition to the commercial ones, to engage more fully and equally with India, not punish it. Not only is it a democracy but also the U.S. and India have emerging and important strategic interests.



The President wants to double exports to help our economy. In advocating restrictions on carbon emissions that will hurt our economy, the Obama Administration argues the world will not act unless America leads. In trade, though, the President and Congress set no example for the world to follow-quite the opposite in fact. The Administration resorts more and more to punitive trade and investment actions like trade duties and disincentives to invest, such as the visa fees directed at India.



India is a rapidly growing economy driven by its consumers. It is an American friend. Picking on India, especially, tells the world that the U.S. commitment to open trade and investment is weakening, a message that will end up hurting both our foreign policy and our economy.



Derek Scissors is a Research Fellow for Asia Economic Policy at The Heritage Foundation's Asian Studies Center. Scissors focuses on the Chinese economy as well as broader Asian economic trends and challenges facing the United States.