U.S. Commerce: India’s reaction positive to ?trusted customer? program

U.S. Commerce: IndiaÆs reaction positive to ôtrusted customerö program U.S. Commerce Department officials said they were pleased by the positive response to their proposed 'trusted customer' program from Indian government officials who attended the U.S.-India High Technology Cooperation Group (HTCG) meetings in Washington last week.
   Commerce wants to develop the trusted customer program for select Indian companies seeking to import certain U.S. technologies, considered 'dual-use,' or have both commercial and military applications. The payback for both Indian importers in the program and U.S. exporters is the reduction in Commerce export license applications.
   Commerce Assistant Secretary for Export Administration Christopher Padilla, who introduced the trusted customer program concept to the Indian delegation, told reporters in a teleconference on Friday that the Indian representatives were 'very enthusiastic.'
   The department's trusted customer program is modeled after the validated end-user (VEU) program regulation, which were proposed in July 2006. Both U.S. and Chinese industry groups are dissatisfied with the proposed program, and some groups have even called for its outright withdraw. The proposed VEU program rules are under interagency review.
   Commerce hopes to include the trusted customer program for India within the VEU rulemaking for China. But the department could go for a separate rulemaking. 'I will do whatever way is fastest ' to get the program up and running for India,' Padilla said.
   The HTCG meetings also sought to 'clear up Cold War cobwebs' among export control rules pertaining to the shipment of U.S. goods to India, such as heavy trucks and shotguns of varying barrel length. Padilla noted that India has taken positive steps to bring its export controls in line with various multilateral regimes, such as the Civil Nuclear Group, Australia Group, and the Wassenaar Arrangement.