India and United States issue joint statement on the Trade Policy Forum

#TradePolicyForum #BilateralTradeTies #BilateralMerchandiseTrade #FDI #EconomicReforms

As India and the United States look ahead to define that ambitious future, the Ministers recognized the importance of engaging in collaborative discussion on the full range of existing and emerging issues affecting their trade relationship.

November 2021: India and the United States held the twelfth Ministerial-level meeting of the India-United States Trade Policy Forum (TPF) in New Delhi recently. Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal and US Trade Representative, Ambassador Katherine Tai co-chaired the TPF meeting. The Ministers convened the TPF with a view to advancing the goal, announced by President Biden and Prime Minister Modi at their September 24, 2021 meeting, to “develop an ambitious, shared vision for the future of the trade relationship.” As India and the United States look ahead to define that ambitious future, the Ministers recognized the importance of engaging in collaborative discussion on the full range of existing and emerging issues affecting their trade relationship.

The Ministers underlined the significance of the TPF in forging robust bilateral trade ties and enhancing the bilateral economic relationship to benefit working people in both countries. They agreed that reconvening the TPF and regular engagement under the forum would help in addressing outstanding bilateral trade concerns and allow the two countries to explore important, emerging trade policy issues. They agreed that the TPF Working Groups on agriculture, non-agriculture goods, services, investment, and intellectual property should be re-activated in order to address issues of mutual concern on an ongoing basis.

The Ministers expressed satisfaction over the robust rebound in bilateral merchandise trade this year 2021 (January – September 2021), which showed almost 50 percent growth over the same period in the previous year; bilateral merchandise trade in the current year is poised to surpass US$ 100 billion mark. The Ministers also appreciated the importance of two-way services trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) as contributors to deeper economic and trade ties and noted buoyancy in bilateral FDI investments in recent months.

Ambassador Tai expressed her appreciation for a number of important economic reforms recently initiated by India, such as liberalization of FDI in the insurance sector, elimination of a retrospective provision in income tax, and launching of the “Single Window System” for facilitating investment. These reforms have enabled improvements in the business ecosystem and Ambassador Tai encouraged the continuation of market-oriented reforms implemented through transparent means. The Ministers underlined the importance of establishing a conducive environment for further integrating the two economies to the benefit of both sides.

The Ministers underlined the importance of the India-U.S. trade and economic partnership in addressing global challenges. They agreed to work collaboratively and constructively in relevant multilateral trade bodies including the WTO, the G20, and the OECD both for enhancing the bilateral trade relationship and for achieving a shared vision of a transparent, rules-based global trading system among market economies and democracies.

The Ministers acknowledged the significance of creating resilient and secure supply chains. In this context, they agreed that India and the United States could, together with like-minded partners, take a leading role in developing secure supply chains in critical sectors of trade and technology. Acknowledging the strong history of collaboration between India and United States in the field of health, the Ministers identified this sector as bearing particular importance in the context of work on resilient supply chains. India also noted its interest in partnering with the U.S. and allies in developing a secure pharmaceutical manufacturing base for augmenting global supply chains.

The Ministers also shared perspectives on the importance of health-related goods and services in U.S.-India trade relations and pledged to pursue constructive dialogue on a range of regulatory issues affecting trade in health-related products. In this regard, the United States acknowledged India’s concerns regarding delays, arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, in U.S. regulatory inspections of Indian pharmaceutical facilities. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to evaluate COVID-19 conditions and is conducting prioritized inspections when there is minimal risk to company and FDA officials. FDA will also continue to utilize remote evaluation techniques for regulatory decisions as appropriate.

The Ministers agreed on the importance of critical and emerging technologies in delivering economic growth and achieving shared strategic priorities, and took note of the work underway on these issues within the Quad framework. They discussed the importance of regular sharing of perspectives on issues, including cyberspace, semiconductors, AI, 5G, 6G and future generation telecommunications technology. They welcomed the participation and collaboration of the private sector in both countries in building stronger linkages in these critical sectors, and supporting resilient and secure global supply chains.

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