- Saturday, April 20, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
UNITED STATES Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Monday (22) said that India and the US have shared challenges in areas such as climate change, vulnerability of supply chains and promoting market-oriented principles and structures.
Tai, who is on a two-day visit to India, attended a reception in New Delhi hosted by Indian commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal. Speaking at the India-USA Trade Policy Forum (TPF) 2021, she said, “India and the US also face shared challenges in areas like climate change, vulnerable supply chains, and promoting market-oriented principles and structures. These areas are ripe for closer collaboration.”
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The American trade representative also said that trade relations with India are a top priority of US president Joe Biden.
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“The trade relationship between our two countries is a priority, both for President Biden and for me. That’s why it was important for me to come to India and relaunch the Trade Policy Forum on my first trip to Asia,” Tai said.
“I know that all of you in this room are similarly invested in the trade relationship. You are putting in the hard work to build commercial ventures, navigate the trading system, and strengthen ties between our countries on a daily basis. The TPF was created to foster those same activities,” the Democratic leader said.
She also said that there is a huge potential for growth between the economies of the US and India in sectors such as digital economy, services, health-related trade and even agriculture.
“I believe that a revived TPF can help our trade relationship keep pace with other important aspects of the US-India partnership. But it’s clear that bilateral trade is not living up to its potential,” she said.
“President Biden and I are convinced that US trade policy requires a fundamental shift to ensure that our policies and actions focus on the impact that trade and trade agreements have on real, working people,” Tai said.
Goyal said India’s competitive advantage of cost, skilled manpower and big market, when combined with the US’s innovation and investment, can become a winning recipe.
Welcoming Tai, he said India and the US have realised the need for diversifying critical supply chains and are “poised to play a leading role in developing trusted supply chains with other like-minded nations”.
“The year 2020 had tested the world’s resolve and brought the world to a standstill. Despite the lockdown, prime minister Narendra Modi directed us to ensure that India does not let down any of its international commitments for a single second. This is exactly what we did! We re-jigged our business processes. As a result, today the world looks at India as a ‘trusted partner’,” Goyal said.
“I believe that India’s competitive advantages of cost, skilled manpower and huge market domestic demand combined with US’s innovation and investment can become a winning partnership amongst natural friends,” the Bharatiya Janata Party leader said.
Referring to the TRF, Goyal said India and the US can use this platform to engage and resolve outstanding issues in an amicable manner and send a strong message to the world that the US-India partnership is stronger than ever before.
