JOIN USShun trade barriers, India tells G20 states
The call for keeping international trade open and avoiding protectionism was made by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee at an international conference of G20 countries—a group comprising developed countries and developing countries including India—being held here.
“The immediate spheres of such coordination (between G20 member countries) are macroeconomic policies and exit strategies, pace of regulatory reforms to ensure financial stability without affecting prospects of growth... keep international trade open and avoiding protectionism,” he told G20, which was formed to handle the financial crisis arising out of global slowdown in 2008.
“The G20 will need to coordinate policy actions in a manner that can ensure strong, sustainable and balanced growth,” Mukherjee said while dwelling on theme of International Cooperation in Times of Global Crisis. Mukherjee’s oblique reference to growing protectionism among some developed countries assumes significance in the wake of the state of Ohio in the US earlier this month banned outsourcing of state IT contracts to foreign companies.
This protectionist move has come close on the heels of the U S decision to hike visa fee for H-1B and L1 categories comprising high-skilled Information Technology (IT) professionals.
Mukherjee has said that global financial and economic crisis of 2007-2009 had not only exposed the fragility of existing global financial and economic institutions, and the limitations of existing macro-economic policy tools but had also provided an opportunity to the world for new thinking in the world of finance and globalization. He said that “as we recover from the crisis and prepare ourselves for post-crisis scenario..”