Move over Europe, U.S. - the future is Asia, India says

GENEVA (Reuters) - The future of manufacturing is in low-cost youthful Asian economies, and the United States and Europe should abandon ideas of propping up uncompetitive industries, India's trade minister said on Thursday.

"The future is that cars are not going to be made in Stuttgart or Detroit -- they're going to be made in Asia," Commerce Minister Kamal Nath told a news conference.

"That's the real world ... because the name of the game is global competitiveness, the name of the game is demographics, the age profile where the big markets are," he said during World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks seeking a breakthrough in deadlocked negotiations to agree a new global trade pact.

Nath dismissed calls from German automobile manufacturers who want to ensure that any WTO deal does not allow big developing countries like India or China to shield entire industrial sectors from market opening.

German automobile manufacturers who have made huge investments in India were urging him to reject such an "anti-concentration" clause, he said.

Nath said he had explained this to German Economy Minister Michael Glos during the talks.

"I'll listen to those German and American companies in India who are creating jobs in India," he said.

Nath rejected calls by U.S. and EU officials for India and other big developing countries to make new offers in the WTO's troubled Doha round talks.

He referred to several concessions India had made since the talks were launched in late 2001.

"Every movement I make you pocket it and ask for more to sustain non-competitive high-cost industries," he said.