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Chidambaram raps Govt on QR pact with US

Our Bureau

NEW DELHI, Jan. 18

THE BJP-led coalition Government has failed to persuade the US to agree for a six-year phase-out schedule for removal of quantitative restrictions, even though the former was willing to do so once after insisting on some modifications, according to the f romer Finance Minister, Mr. P. Chidambaram.

In a statement, Mr. Chidambaram recalled that during his tenure in the United Front Government, he and the then Prime Minister, Mr. I.K. Gujral, met with the US President, Mr. Bill Clinton, in New York in September-October 1997 and impressed upon him the need to let India a six-year period.

Within three days of the meeting, India's Ambassador to the WTO, Mr. Narayanan, reported back that he had received word from the US Trade Representative that the US would agree to a transition period of six years, but would like to negotiate the front-lo ading/back-loading in the Agreement of the items which were still subject to QR.

Though there was slow progress in these discussions and the US raised a dispute against New Delhi before the WTO dispute settlement body, Mr. Chidambaram said the BJP Government should have picked up the thread from where it was left by the UF Government .

He said the Government failed to persuade the US on the front-loading/back-loading and had to make a crucial concession of two years in the transition time. ``There will also be an impact on several industries which were preparing for a QR-free regime by 2003 and are now faced with the deadline of April 2001,'' the former Finance Minister said.

Mr. Chidambaram said there is no evidence that the Government has prepared Indian industry for a QR-free regime by April 2001 and all these matters call for an open and vigorous debate and hoped that the Government would respond to the demand.