India’s Patent Policy Riles U.S.

Abstract

India has emerged as one of the U.S.’s largest trading partners. But the growing commercial ties between the world’s two biggest democracies could be put at risk by escalating U.S. complaints that India engages in discriminatory trade practices and does not respect globally recognized intellectual property rights, especially for pharmaceuticals. A coalition of U.S. trade associations contends that India has adopted policies favoring its own businesses in industries such as generic drugs, clean energy, and information technology. It has denied and revoked patents from U.S. companies and has imposed tariffs and local content requirements. The financial stakes are enormous, given India’s 1.27 billion population and growing middle class. Within the next decade, India is expected to become the world’s third-largest economy. “American businesses want to continue to invest in India, but not at the expense of American workers and economic progress,” says Linda Menghetti Dempsey, vice president of international ec...