U.S.-India Economic Dialogue: U.S.-India High Technology Cooperation Group

The U.S.-India High-Technology Cooperation Group (HTCG) was formed in November 2002 to provide a standing framework for discussing high-technology issues of mutual interest. The HTCG is co-chaired by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security and the Indian Foreign Secretary and has two primary and interrelated substantive components:

• Strategic trade, which seeks to expand trade with India in controlled items while enhancing the security of such trade.
• Trade development, which focuses on cooperative steps that the United States and India can take to create the appropriate economic, legal, and structural environments that are necessary for successful high-technology trade.

The HTCG has provided an ideal forum to address strategic trade and trade development issues that benefits both countries.

• From 2002 and 2005, U.S. exports to India increased from approximately $4 billion annually to approximately $8 billion annually. While there are a number of reasons for this increase, the efforts of the HTCG contributed to this growth.
• The HTCG and the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP) reduced trade with India requiring an export license by approximately 25%. Commerce estimates that about $50 million in annual exports to India no longer requires an export license.
• Only approximately one percent of U.S. trade with India – by value – requires an export license. In Fiscal Year 2005, the Department of Commerce approved 91 percent of all export license applications for India.
• In addition, average processing time for licenses to India have declined to a period similar to average processing times for many key U.S. partners and allies.

The HTCG helped lay the groundwork for India’s actions under the NSSP to enact a new comprehensive export control law and harmonize its control lists with those of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the Missile Technology Control Regime.

Under Secretary David H. McCormick led an interagency delegation to India in November and December, 2005 to participate in the most recent round of the HTCG. The two governments continued discussions on strategic trade issues, particularly implementation of India’s WMD law, and agreed on specific steps to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade and collaboration in four sector-specific areas: defense technology, nanotechnology, information technology, and biotechnology.