Protectionism would deepen recession: Sharma

Lalit K Jha

Washington, June 19 (PTI) Indian Union Commerce and
Industry Minister Anand Sharma has warned countries trying to
introduce protectionist measures that this would not only be
counter-productive, but also deepen the recession and delay
recovery.

"Any kind of protectionism will not only be
counterproductive, but deepen the recession and delay the
recovery," Sharma said in response to a question in his
interaction with Washington-based journalists at the
end of his trip to the city.

"In our opinion, protectionism is counterproductive for
any country, because protectionism at a time when we are
talking of kick-starting the Doha Development Process would
actually go against that spirit," Sharma said.

Noting that protectionism in any legal format would
subvert the multilateral processes, he said such barrier would
prolong the present economic recession and further delay any
turnaround.

Observing that all countries do eventually take action
and policy measures to uphold national interest, he said at
the same time India is committed to multilateralism. "We are
against protectionist measures," he said.

"There are some issues which are there, which I have
raised it with my interlocutors and I am sure that has
registered. Some of the areas I feel there is lack of
comprehension and information, particularly when you
look at the services sector, it’s an important component and
forms a major component of Indian exports," Sharma said.

"What is perhaps not fully appreciated that the outflow
of services is evenly matched by the inflow of services. So
that is more important," he added.

Of the fortune 500 companies, 100 of them having R & D
hubs in India and another 220 sourcing their software from the
country, Sharma said: "Do not forget, if India is such a huge
IT industry, where does the hardware come from. That is
why any protectionist barrier is dangerous," Sharma said.

Referring to a report he released on Wednesday, Sharma
said the Indian industry brought in over USD 106 billion in
economic activity to the US last year and created 300,000
jobs.

"Indian IT industry alone has created 250,000 jobs in
America. So when it comes to H-1B visas, you stretch it to
30,000. It is reciprocity, which has to be acknowledged and
appreciated," he said.

"That is why I said any kind of protectionism, will not
only be counterproductive, but deepen the recession and delay
the recovery," Sharma said. PTI