Congressman David Dreier (R-CA) will be at it again with "free trade" legislation for his foreign and corporate sponsors.

See below for articles from Reuters and the Indian press.

Given Dreier's record, there could be an H-1B increase in this legislation. Among other things, he is consistently for increasing the caps. He is one of the congressmen supporting the Sensenbrenner bill (HR 4065), which aims to triple the H-1B quota.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/politics ... 7920071202

Congressman to introduce India trade legislation
Sun Dec 2, 2007 1:56pm EST

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A U.S. congressman said on Sunday he planned to
introduce legislation calling for the United States to begin talks with
India on a free trade agreement.

Rep. David Dreier, a California Republican, said at the World Economic
Forum India summit such a move would be a building block towards the
success of the Doha Round of global trade talks or the next World Trade
Organisation (WTO) round.

"I'm going to introduce legislation calling for the beginnings of
negotiations between the United States of America and India for a free
trade agreement," Dreier said.

"It will in large part be a discussion piece for us to just begin talking
about this," he told Reuters after making the announcement to hundreds of
delegates at a dinnertime question and answer session with Indian Trade
Minister Kamal Nath.

"I don't want to lead anyone to believe this is going to happen overnight
or happen quickly. But the notion of discussing the idea of a U.S.-India
FTA I think is important," Dreier said.

Nath told Reuters afterwards the idea had come up before and it should be
examined.

Asked if he would welcome such legislation, Nath said: "Well we'll have to
study it, we'll have to work towards it. There is no one-size-fits-all
model of a trade agreement."

The Doha round of trade talks was launched six years ago to boost the
world economy and help poor countries export their way out of poverty. The
talks have missed deadlines and WTO members agreed on Friday to aim to
finish negotiations next year.

(Reporting by Charlotte Cooper; Editing by Stephen Weeks)

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From the Indian press:

http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14570520

Kamal Nath favours FTA with US
Monday, 03 December , 2007, 17:05


New Delhi: Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath has said a Free Trade
Agreement (FTA) between India and the United States needs to be closely
looked at to foster a closer engagement with the world's most powerful
democracy.

''This is something which we should examine. The world wonders why the
oldest and the largest democracies in the world can not have an agreement
in trade,'' Nath said addressing a session last night at the India
Economic Summit here.

Nath's remarks came after US congressman Rep David Dreier, a California
Republican, said he will lobby for a legislation for a FTA with India.
Dreier sought his comments on this.

The Commerce Minister welcomed the suggestion, saying that bilateral and
regional agreements are the building blocks for any rule-based
multilateral system.

The annual event, jointly organised by the World Economic Forum and CII,
has seen the business community from India and overseas descend on the
capital.

Analysts, however, say that Indian industry may not be too happy with the
move for the fear of being swamped by powerful American companies. This
may also lead to a surge in imports from the United States.

Both corporates and political personalities have been critical of the
indiscriminate manner in which the FTAs are being negotiated.

India already has FTAs with Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

It is negotiating such agreements with the European Union and the ASEAN.
There is also talk of reaching such preferential agreements with Japan and
China.

Nath reiterated India's stance that the developed countries should cut
their agricultural subsidies before insisting that India open up its
agriculture to provide market access.

''The Doha round is a development round. It is not about perpetuating the
distortions in agriculture trade,'' he said.

Nath added that a rule-based multilateral trading system was as important
to India as it was to the US and the EU.

''We need it more than any other stronger player,'' he said.

The Minister referred to the paradox of India being a country with high
growth and appalling poverty. ''In my constituency in Chhindwara in Madhya
Pradesh people will not understand the meaning of nine per cent growth.
They have not experienced the benefits of this growth.'' Interestingly,
Nath's comments on poverty and growth came when global and Indian CEOs
were savouring a sumptuous dinner at the five star hotel Taj Palace.

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http://www.domain-b.com/economy/trade/2 ... _nath.html

US senator proposes free trade pact with India; Kamal Nath backs itnews
03 December 2007


Mumbai: India and the United States, which represent two opposing groups
in the World Trade Organisation''''s multilateral trade negotiations, have
proposed to examine a bilateral agreement to boost two-way commerce.

Commerce minister Kamal Nath welcomed the suggestion made by a US
congressman that he planned to introduce legislation calling for the
United States to begin talks
with India on a free trade agreement.

David Dreier, a Republican senator from California, said at the World
Economic Forum India summit that such a move would be a building block
towards the success of the Doha Round of global trade talks or the next
World Trade Organisation (WTO) round.

"This is something which we should examine... the world wonders why the
oldest and the largest democracies in the world cannot have an agreement
in trade," Nath said.

India and the US are two key players in WTO''''s Doha Round negotiations,
an agreement on which has remained elusive so far.

Developed nations such as the US want developing countries to open up
market for industrial goods, while emerging economies, including India,
insist that rich countries, particularly the US, cut farm subsidies.

The WTO deadlock has prompted many countries to opt for bilateral or
regional trade pacts.

India is negotiating several agreements, including one with the European
Union.

Nath said a rule-based multilateral trading system was as important to
India as it was to the US and EU. "We need it more than any other stronger
player," he said.

Nath, however, said while the US has sensitivities in agriculture, India
is more sensitive. He said over 650 million people in the country are
dependent on agriculture and the country "cannot have a subsidised market
access which destabilises our farmers."