NEW DELHI: India has protested US senators writing directly to Indian companies and seeking H-1B visa details and said such missives from American law-makers would "vitiate the atmosphere" of WTO negotiations in services.
"I am taking it up with the US Trade Representative... that such letters are better written through the USTR rather than being written to the companies (directly)," Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath told a television channel here.
Services were "an ongoing part of negotiations at the WTO and will form a very important component and anything at this stage that vitiates the atmosphere... Will not lead to the breakthrough we are looking forward to," he told Times Now.
Infosys, Wipro and Tata Consultancy Services are among nine Indian firms that have been asked to disclose details about their workforce by two US lawmakers, who feel that the H-1B visa program is being abused by foreign companies to displace qualified American workers.
As the US Senate gets ready to take up the comprehensive immigration reform legislation, Republican Senator Charles Grassley and Democratic Senator Richard Durbin said companies were using H-1B visas to displace qualified American workers. In a statement from Brussels, Kamal Nath said India would take up the issue at the meeting of four key WTO members and discuss it separately with Washington.
"I will raise this issue with the United States Trade Representative (USTR) Susan Schwab and in the G-4 meetings," he said. "I am surprised both with the form and content of the letter. Issues such as work visas are inter-governmental in nature and should be dealt with accordingly," Nath said.
He said while India continues to liberalize its services economy, it expects equal movement from important trading partners like the US in areas of its interest like movement of persons across borders to provide services. "Unless we see forward movement in such areas, it will be difficult for India to enhance its commitments in the services negotiations," Nath warned.
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