The IT industry association Nasscom is elated that the Union Government has moved the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against the US plan to sharply increase the fees for work visas.
“We have been working with the government on the issue. One of our suggestions was to take it up with the WTO to protect the interests of the Indian companies that seek visas from the US government,” Nasscom Chairman BVR Mohan Reddy told Business Line .
The Ministry of Commerce has initiated a WTO ‘dispute proceeding’ against the US, imposing higher fee for applicants seeking two categories of non-immigrant temporary working visas.
India has argued that these measures appear to be inconsistent with the US’s commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in Services.
“The WTO has acknowledged receipt of the complaint and will look into the appeal. It will write to the US government on the objections raised by us and would ask it to withdraw the measures,” Mohan Reddy said.
The move to sharply increase the visa fee came in a shock to the Indian IT industry that it thought could put a burden of about $400 million a year. This, the industry worried, could adversely impact the bottomlines of companies.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to US President Barrack Obama and asked him to look into the issue two months ago,” Mohan Reddy said.