Following the successful conclusion of the ninth round of U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum, the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) hosted a reception, providing an opportunity for deeper engagement between industry stakeholders and government officials from both the United States and India.
The U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum (TPF) is a government-to-government trade dialogue aimed at increasing bilateral investment between the two nations.
The trade policy forum comes on the back of U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial as well as Prime Minister Modi's visit to the west coast of the United States.
The talks focused on four primary areas of bilateral ties- agriculture, services, promoting investment in manufacturing, and intellectual property. USIBC member companies submitted recommendations under these four working groups to the USTR.
The reception was attended by high ranking government officials such as Minister of Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman, United States Trade Representative Michael Froman, Commerce Secretary of India Rita Teotia and Deputy USTR Ambassador Holleyman.
The event received broad representation from USIBC's diverse membership base of 300+ companies that include Ford, MasterCard, Pfizer, Lockheed Martin, Bank of America, PayPal and Boeing.
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During the discussion, Sitharaman and Froman highlighted the direction in which the two nations are working together to foster a robust and open bilateral trade environment.
Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the west coast and a series of successful dialogues over the last few months, both nations view the bilateral relationship with greater enthusiasm.
President of the USIBC, Mukesh Aghi, said that Trade Policy Forum represents another important step towards strengthened trade relations between the U.S. and India.
"The trade policy forum couldn't have come at a better time. We have seen India rise in World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi. The Trade Policy Forum represents another important step towards strengthened trade relations between the U.S. and India. India is growing to be one of the most open economies in the world today and USIBC member companies are excited by the opportunity to grow the bilateral trade five-fold," he said.
"Increasing FDI projects in sectors like manufacturing, defense, Smart Cities and clean technology along with positive environment fostered by initiatives like Make in India and Digital India are proving to be game changers and creating jobs for the Indian economy," he added.
United States Trade Representative Michael Froman said that there has been enhanced engagement between the United States and India in the course of the past year, with a high bar set by President Obama and Prime Minister Modi.
"Our work this week under the Trade Policy Forum focused on translating engagement into tangible results that will increase the pace of trade growth between our economies. To that end, Minister Sitharaman and I focused our work on forward looking policy initiatives in intellectual property, manufacturing, agriculture and services that can expand trade and investment and benefit our manufacturers, workers, innovators, service providers, farmers, and ranchers," he said.
Minister Sitharaman congratulated Ambassador Froman on the successful conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) after eight years of painstaking efforts and said, "The U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum was an intense engagement, one which we can say with confidence is moving forward with a lot of positive outcomes."
Meanwhile, Vice President of International Government Affairs, Abbott, Claude Burcky, said that Abbott continues to see India as a promising market for growth.
"The government's vision for promoting ease of doing business and attracting investment enables Abbott to help more people live healthier, better lives," Burcky said.