Washington
(AFP) - India has warned the United States of consequences for its
companies if lawmakers tighten visa rules on high-tech firms as part of
an immigration overhaul.
Ambassador Subrahmanyam
Jaishankar said that India would see a decision to restrict certain
temporary visas for skilled workers as a sign that the US economy is
becoming less open for business.
"We think this is
actually going to be harmful to us. It would be harmful to the American
economy and, frankly, it would be harmful to the relationship" between
the two countries, Jaishankar told AFP in an interview.
"Once I feel I'm not
getting a fair deal, I am less responsive to the concerns of the other
party. Then tomorrow if an American company comes and says, 'You know,
we've got this set of problems,' the temptation for me is to say, 'I'm
out for lunch,'" he said.
The Republican
leadership of the House of Representatives recently laid out general
principles for an overhaul of immigration -- whose main goal would be to
give legal status to the estimated 11 million undocumented foreigners
in the United States.
A version passed last
year by the Senate, which is led by President Barack Obama's Democratic
Party, offers automatic immigrant visas for foreigners who earn advanced
science degrees at US universities. But it changes rules on so-called
H-1B visas, which are issued to skilled workers who come temporarily to
the United States.
The Senate bill, while
increasing the overall number of H-1B visas available, would hike fees
and restrict additional H-1B visas for companies considered dependent on
such foreign workers. The move came after complaints by US companies
and labor groups that Indian tech firms bring in their own, lower-paid
employees rather than hiring Americans.
Jaishankar charged that
the changes attacked the business model of India's showcase IT industry,
which he said was making the US economy more competitive by helping
companies operate round-the-clock.
The ambassador said he
raised his concerns in meetings with more than 25 members of Congress,
including House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry
Reid, since he arrived in Washington in December.
Another prominent
lawmaker, Senator Orrin Hatch, recently called India "the biggest
battlefield" for intellectual property rights and accused the country of
"rampant piracy and counterfeiting" to benefit its own industries.
Hatch made his remarks
at the US Chamber of Commerce, which released a report that ranked India
at the bottom of 25 countries in protection of intellectual property.
Jaishankar said he was
"very surprised" by Hatch's remarks and charged that the pharmaceutical
industry was driving criticism of India, with few complaints about
intellectual property rights in other sectors.
India has a major
generic drug industry that produces cheaper copycat versions of
life-saving branded medicines. But Jaishankar said it was incorrect to
suggest that a "huge number of patents" was under threat.
"I would very honestly
describe it as scare-mongering tactics and, frankly, I don't think it's
helpful," he said. "If there is an expectation that by doing this, we
are setting ourselves up for a serious conversation, I think someone's
got something wrong."
"Affordable health care
is the number one issue in the United States. There is almost a
presumption here that what is a legitimate concern for Americans should
not be a legitimate concern for Indians," he said.
Jaishankar arrived in
Washington amid one of the worst crises in years between the world's two
largest democracies after authorities in New York arrested an Indian
diplomat, Devyani Khobragade, on charges of underpaying her domestic
servant and lying on her visa application.
Jaishankar said that
Indians "disagree strongly" with the US treatment of Khobragade, who
returned to India under a deal after an indictment, but played down the
impact on overall ties.
He said that India and
the United States -- whose relationship has rapidly grown since
estrangement during the Cold War -- shared common interests on security
and political issues.
"I would not assume that there's something structurally wrong or some revisiting of the basics of our relationship," he said.
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