US Senators Urge India To Soften Data Localization Stance (reuters.com)

Two U.S. senators have called on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to soften India's stance on data localization, warning that measures requiring it represent "key trade barriers" between the two nations. From a report: In a letter to Modi dated Friday and seen by Reuters, U.S. Senators John Cornyn and Mark Warner -- co-chairs of the Senate's India caucus that comprises over 30 senators -- urged India to instead adopt a "light touch" regulatory framework that would allow data to flow freely across borders. The letter comes as relations between Washington and New Delhi are strained over multiple issues, including an Indo-Russian defense contract, India's new tariffs on electronics and other items, and its moves to buy oil from Iran despite upcoming U.S. sanctions.

Global payments companies including Mastercard, Visa and American Express have been lobbying India's finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India to relax proposed rules that require all payment data on domestic transactions in India be stored inside the country by October 15. The letter is most likely a last-ditch effort after the RBI told officials at top payment firms this week that the central bank would implement, in full, its data localization directive without extending the deadline, or allowing data to be stored both offshore as well as locally -- a practice known as data mirroring. "We see this (data localization) as a fundamental issue to the further development of digital trade and one that is crucial to our economic partnership," the U.S. senators said in the letter that has not been previously reported.

Comments

The Indians aren't stupid

[rsilvergun]

they know damn well how outsourcing works and they'll be damned if you're gonna do it to them. Wanna do business in our country? Then you damn well better hire our people.

Trump...

[Anonymous Coward]

They have learned India First...... as has much of the world.
They have also learned no deal is better than a bad deal.

Oh, they have learned that the USA treats is "friends" pretty much the same as it treats is enemies and that the USA will interfere with local elections, trade, etc , etc.

Re:How about minding one's own business?

[rtb61]

Well, no, a countries economy is it's business, so they are trying to mind India's economic business, to exploit Indians and favour US corporations, so they are trying to mind someone eles's business against that countries citizens interests.

US tech companies are going to get kicked out of the rest of the world, because security letters out of a corrupt US government that compromise other countries digital security are entirely too easy. It does not help that moronic US government officials, keep pushing control on other countries against those countries citizens interests, keep demanding dominance, talk about first strikes from cyber warfare to nuclear strikes, routinely interfere with other countries politics in the most horrendous fashion and practically declare war on a made up instance of Russia's interference, yet routinely ignore the UKs, Israel's and even Saudi Arabia's interference (at least that one is coming to and end).

They are really lucky India politicians just no simply tell them to go fuck themselves publicly, after being fucked over by the UK purposefully splitting the country to create a civil war and keep them divided and weak and the US treating them obedient dogs, well, come to expect NO as the routine answer and yeah, everyone wants to buy Russian S400s to keep the US out because they now NATO supplied anti-air systems will not shot down US aircraft, there are some really interesting back doors in there to find and exploit. I mean, nothing would benefit Russian fighter sales, like US supplied aircraft falling out of the sky when their engines are turned off.