Culmination to country's designation as major US defence partner: MEA on India's STA-1 status
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India has welcomed Trump administration's move to grant Strategic Trade Authorization-1 status to India.
"We welcome the announcement made by US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross in the Indo-Pacific Business Forum on July 30, 2018, about the US Government’s decision to move India into Tier-1 of the Department of Commerce’s Strategic Trade Authorization license exception," the Ministry of External Affairs noted in a statement.
The MEA described the move as a "logical culmination to India's designation as a major defence partner of the United States".
It is a "reaffirmation of India's impeccable record as a responsible member of the concerned multilateral export control regimes," the statement noted.
India also expressed that the crucial step will also "facilitate India-US trade and technology collaboration in defence and high technology areas".
"We look forward to the US side operationalizing the decision at an early date," the statement added.
We welcome the announcement made by US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross in the Indo-Pacific Business Forum on July 30, 2018, about the U.S. Government’s decision to move India into Tier-1 of the Department of Commerce’s Strategic Trade Authorization license exception: MEA
— ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2018
The special status will now enable India to export high-tech items.
At the start of the first-ever Indo-Pacific Business Forum, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced that the Trump administration has granted strategic trade authorisation status (STA-1) to India.
"And that's a very important change in their status under our export control regime. It acknowledges the US-India security and economic relationship. What it does is it comes under the Export Administration Rules, and it authorises the export, re-export and in-country transfer of specific items to destinations that the US regards as low risk," Ross noted.
It's a logical culmination to India's designation as a Major Defense Partner of US & a reaffirmation of India's impeccable record as a responsible member of the concerned multilateral export control regimes: Ministry of External Affairs
— ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2018
"It is because India has partnered with us to improve its own export control regimes, and has met most of the multilateral export rules that we think are useful. It finally reflects India's status as a major defence partner of the US," said the commerce secretary.
Currently, 36 countries, mostly all NATO nations, have this status.
(With inputs from PTI)