The US Senate India Caucus has asked the Obama administration to make the India-US bilateral investment treaty a higher priority, according to Mark Warner, senator from Virginia and co-chair of the India Caucus.
“It is in America’s own interest to have this treaty. World-class Indian companies like Infotech, Wipro and Infosys are looking at expanding their footprints in the US. They need to have assurance that their investments would be protected. My hope is that we can push the administration to take it up shortly,” he told mediapersons.
Warner said unfortunately for the US, it had taken sometime to work through some of the free trade agreements (FTAs), including with Korea and Columbia. “So, we think the first step towards the FTA with India will be the bilateral investment treaty,” he said.
On the outsourcing issue, he said US saw India and the region as a tremendous growth market, especially for IT. “We (India and the US) have expectations from both sides. We understand the Indian concerns about outsourcing. One of the ways that will mitigate this is to see more Indian companies investing in the US,” Warner added.