US awards STA status to India

Washington, Aug 04: The United States of America on Monday designated India as a Strategic Trade Authorization-1 (STA-1) country- a status that will allow the country to buy highly advanced and sensitive technologies from America.

With such a coveted designation, India will now be at par with the United States' closest allies and partners such as NATO.

In a statement, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said that this new designation reflects India's membership in three of the four multilateral export control regimes, as well the development of its national export control system.

"US companies will be able to more efficiently export a much wider range of products to Indian high technology and military customers. India's new status will benefit US manufacturers while continuing to protect its national security," he added.

STA Tier 1 treatment will expand the scope of exports subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) that can be made to India without individual licenses. This regulatory change will enhance the bilateral defense trade relationship and result in a greater volume of US exports to India.

Currently, there are 36 countries on STA-1 list. India is the only South Asian country to be on the list. Other Asian countries designated as STA-1 are Japan and South Korea.

US Commerce Secretary Ross yesterday said that India has partnered with the United States to improve its own export control regimes and has met most of the export control rules which the US thinks is useful.