Indian Firms No Strangers to Lobbying in the United States

ReutersChairman of Tata Group, Ratan Tata, far left, chief executive officer of Reliance Industries Mukesh Ambani, far right, with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in Mumbai, in this July 2009 file photo.

“Who has taken the money?” one parliamentarian shouted.

“How much money is taken?” asked another.

“Where was the money taken?” yelled a third.

Both houses of India's Parliament were closed on Tuesday, after shouting and chaos erupted among lawmakers over recent reports c onnecting Wal-Mart Stores' lobbying budget with the company's attempts to break into the Indian market. The Press Trust of India reported Dec. 9 that Wal-Mart spent about $25 million since 2008 on various lobbying activities, including on issues related to “enhanced market access for investment in India.”

The report has angered Indian lawmakers who opposed Wal-Mart's entry into India and stirred up a full-on media onslaught. Yet Wal-Mart's activity comes as no surprise to anyone with knowledge of how lobbying works in the United States .

It should also come as no surprise to executives from dozens of Indian companies as well, who regularly spend money on lobbying in the United States.

An American House of Representatives Web site that discloses lobbyi ng spending lists at least 20 Indian companies and trade associations that have hired American lobbying firms to promote their business interests since 2006.

These include Reliance India, Tata Sons, Ranbaxy Lab, the National Association of Software and Service Companies, the Gems and Jewelry Export Promotion Council, the All India Rice Export Promotion Council and the Carpet Export Promotion Council.

Ranbaxy, for instance, paid $90,000 to the lobbying firm Patton Boggs, related to the issue described as “Preserve Access to Affordable Generics,” according to a document registered in 2010. Tata Sons paid an undisclosed amount under $10,000 to the Cohen Group, according to a document from 2007, related to issues described as “exploring market in the defense sector.” Reliance Industries became a client of the lobbyist Barbour, Griffith & Rogers, according to a 2009 document, on the unspecified issue of “TRD,” meaning trade.

Wal-Mart Stores has dozens of filings with the House of Representatives Web site, many of which have nothing to do with India.

In one of Wal-Mart's most recent filings, the company reported paying $1.2 million in expenses to lobby the Commerce Department, the House of Representatives and others on more than a dozen foreign trade issues, including a “U.S. Mexico trade dispute” and “discussion related to India F.D.I.”