WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama and new Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday ended a frosty period in bilateral ties by agreeing to tackle climate change and strive to settle a long-lasting trade dispute over Canadian softwood lumber exports.

The neighboring countries are traditionally close but relations had soured under former prime minister Stephen Harper, who hectored the White House in a failed bid to push through U.S. approval for the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

Obama and Trudeau, whose Liberals came to power last November promising better cooperation with Washington, pledged joint steps to fight global warming, including cutting methane emissions from oil and gas operations.

The countries committed to cutting emissions of methane by 40 to 45 percent below 2012 levels by 2025, to take steps to fight climate change in the Arctic, and to speed development of green technologies.

They also told officials to look for solutions to a lengthy dispute over exports of Canadian softwood lumber, as well as promising to make it easier for goods and people to cross the long shared border.

“I am grateful that I have him as a partner … When it comes to the central challenges that we face, our two nations are more closely aligned than ever,” Obama told a news conference after talks with Trudeau.

“The President and I agree on many things including, of paramount importance, the direction we want to take our countries in to ensure a clean and prosperous future,” said Trudeau.

In another sign of friendlier bilateral ties, Trudeau invited Obama to address the Canadian Parliament this year.

Americans have been captivated by the photogenic Trudeau, 44, whose father, Pierre Trudeau, was prime minister from 1968 through 1979, and again from 1980 to 1984.

His visit will be capped by a state dinner on Thursday but that could be overshadowed by the race to succeed Obama in November’s presidential election. Candidates for the Republican nomination will hold a debate on Thursday night.

Trudeau declined to say what he would do in case the next president was Donald Trump, who has mused about tearing up the North American Free Trade Agreement.

“The friendship between our two countries goes far beyond any two individuals or any ideologies,” he said.

“I have tremendous confidence in the American people, and look forward to working with whomever they choose to send to this White House later this year.”

(Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton in Washington; Editing by James Dalgleish)

The post Obama, Trudeau mark better Canada ties with climate, trade accords appeared first on Ubiq TV | English News Channel.

ZURICH/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Trade tensions between India and the United States intensified on Friday as New Delhi filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization over steep fee increases for U.S. non-immigrant temporary work visas.

The WTO said in a statement that India has disputed the doubling of the fees for H-1B and L-1 work visas and limits on their numbers. The visas are typically used by thousands of Indian nationals hired by information technology services firms operating in the United States.

The complaint comes just days after the United States won a WTO ruling in favor of its challenge to India’s domestic content rules for its solar power subsidy program after months of negotiations failed to produce a settlement.

In its filing, India said the new U.S. visa measures seemed  inconsistent with the WTO commitments the United States had made, because the moves treat Indian IT workers in the United States less favourably than their American counterparts.

In December, the U.S. Congress doubled the cost of sponsoring H-1B visas to $4,000 each and L-1 visas to $4,500 each as part of a major spending bill. Indian business lobby NASSCOM estimated that would inflate costs for Indian IT export firms by $400 million a year.

India is upset that the visa fees were raised without consultation. Its $150 billion outsourcing sector provides about three quarters of the country’s annual revenue from the United States. The outsourcing companies send thousands of staff every year to work at client locations.

Analysts say the measure will cut 50 to 60 basis points off the profit margins of companies like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys starting this fiscal year, which begins in April.

A spokesman for the Indian trade ministry declined to comment on the filing.

In Washington, U.S. Trade Representative spokesman Andrew Bates said that the United States “looks forward to discussing our H-1B visa program with our Indian counterparts.”

“We are confident that the United States’ visa program, which was recently updated on a bipartisan basis by Congress, is fully consistent with our WTO obligations,” Bates added.

The United States has 10 days to respond to the request, which will go to the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body if the two countries cannot reach an agreement.

(Additional reporting by David Lawder in Washington)

The post India files trade complaint against U.S. over temporary work visas appeared first on Ubiq TV | English News Channel.