India-US goods & services trade doubled since 2014, surpasses $191 bn

India-US bilateral goods and services trade has nearly doubled since 2014, surpassing $191 billion recorded in 2022. This was acknowledged by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Friday during the India-US Commercial Dialogue meeting.

Co-chaired by Goyal and Raimondo, the commercial dialogue is a part of ongoing efforts to strengthen US-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership.

Raimondo attended the meeting before leaving for the US on Friday. She had arrived in India on March 7 at the invitation of the Indian government.

During the meeting, both the sides welcomed further steps to enhance their commercial collaboration and tap into market potential across multiple sectors, and also enable an environment for investment by small and medium-size industries (MSME) and startups.

Secretary Raimondo appreciated the steps undertaken under the National Infrastructure Pipeline and PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, an official statement issued by the Commerce ministry said.

Goyal and Raimondo welcomed the US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET). The two ministers also noted India's interest in partnering with the US in developing a secure pharmaceutical manufacturing base and diversifying supply chains for critical and strategic minerals (including rare earths).

One of the major outcomes of the meeting was the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on establishing semiconductor supply chain and innovation partnership under the framework of India-US Commercial Dialogue.

Both the ministers recognised that small businesses and entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of the US and Indian economies and there is a need to facilitate collaboration between the SMEs of the two countries and to foster innovation ecosystems that facilitate their post-pandemic economic recovery and growth.

In this context, both sides announced the launch of a new working group on talent, innovation and inclusive growth under the Commercial Dialogue.

This will further the cooperation on start-ups, SMEs, skill development and entrepreneurship, including in digital and emergent technologies.

This working group would also support the efforts under iCET, particularly in identifying specific regulatory hurdles that hinder cooperation and fostering of greater connectivity between our innovation ecosystems (including tech start-ups).

Both sides expressed interest in working together in developing next-generation standards in telecommunications, including 6G.

Secretary Raimondo welcomed India's ongoing G20 presidency. The ministers expressed interest to look forward to the next Commercial Dialogue meeting to be held in Washington DC in 2024, contributing towards a growing strategic and economic relationship between India and the US.

--IANS

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