Litigation

Threat of trade war grows thanks to Zadroga 9/11 compensation law

By Carter Wood

We're still waiting for this story to be reported by all those publications that campaigned so vigorously last year for passage of H.R. 847, the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. From The Economic Times of India, "Govt to move WTO if Visa talks with US fail next month":

NEW DELHI: With the recent visit of US commerce secretary Gary Locke failing to address India's concern on professional visa fee increase and imposition of additional duties on government imports, the country will try for one last time to settle the issue bilaterally next month.

Commerce secretary Rahul Khullar will meet US undersecretary of commerce Francisco Sanchez in March to settle the issue, failing which India would approach the World Trade Organsation, or WTO, a senior official has said.

"We have already successfully demonstrated to the EU that we don't hesitate going to the WTO if we are wronged. It will not be any different with the US," a commerce department official told ET.

At issue is the final funding mechanism for the $4.2 billion Zadroga 9/11 bill: a 2 percent excise fee on foreign manufacturers/companies located in countries where the U.S. does not have an international procurement agreement, and an extension of fees until 2015 on H-1B and L-1 visas.

Both provisions hit India's software and other high-tech companies especially hard.

Only one media outlet we find has reported at any length on the U.S. reaction to India's unhappiness with the legislation, which reopens and expand the 9/11 compensation fund. That's the India-based CNBC-18, which interviewed Commerce Secretary Locke on the issue during Locke's visit to India earlier this month. The resulting story, "US visa fee hike temporary; not aimed at India: Gary Locke," is confusing, as if the Secretary and reporter were talking past one another.

Full post as published by Point of Law on February 28, 2011 (boomark / email).