India and the United States on Wednesday agreed to fast-track technical negotiations for early conclusion of a Bilateral Investment Agreement during a meeting between Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and US Trade Representative Ron Kirk.
Reports (not denied by India) that the USA had 'for the first time provided real-time details to their Indian counterparts on the Chinese positions and force strength in advance of a PLA incursion' into Tawang at the LAC in December 2022, helping India thwart China's expansionist designs, show how operationally effective the USA-India friendship has become on the ground. A engaging excerpt from Sreeram Chaulia's must-read new book, Friends: India's Closest Strategic Partners.
Political rhetoric ahead of Presidential elections in US is denting trade ties.
The 2+2 was attended by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and their Indian counterparts S Jaishankar and Rajnath Singh respectively.
The commonalities of interests are immense for growth in trade between India and the US.
These concrete steps should include measures to address any number of pressing concerns, including prohibitively high tariffs and discriminatory forced localization requirements that are blocking US exports of a wide range of products.
Ron Somers, founder and CEO of India First Group and the former President of leading business advocacy group US-India Business Council said that when Lok Sabha election results are declared on June 4, "I believe that Narendra Modi will win Parliament by the largest majority ever recorded in the country's history.
India and the US on Sunday agreed to enhance their engagement on intellectual property rights, a vexed issue between the two countries.
The lawmakers from the US State of Washington have urged the Biden administration to help remove or reduce the tariffs on American apples imported to India as the country's fruit industry has incurred significant losses due to New Delhi's retaliatory measures. In a letter to US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, all members of the House of Representatives from Washington State and other two senators said the tree fruit industry suffered losses due to India's retaliation to US tariffs. On average, 30 per cent of the apples, cherries, and pears produced in the Pacific Northwest are exported and India was once a strong market.
"A Biden administration will be mostly positive for India," said Rick Rossow from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies think tank. "I expect most positive areas of cooperation -- notably defence -- to be maintained," he said.
India and the US on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding to work towards ensuring safety of traded consumer products.
"I'm going to India next week and we're talking trade. They've been hitting us very hard for many, many years," Trump said at a 'Keep America Great' rally in Colorado on Thursday. Trump told thousands of his supporters that he "really likes" Prime Minister Modi and they would be talking business.
A bipartisan US Congressional delegation, comprising of influential lawmakers who recently visited Pakistan and Afghanistan, have asked the leaders in Islamabad to focus on improving trade relationship with India and building people-to-people contact.
India is currently a relatively small market for the US, in terms of total US exports.
India and the United States settled a dispute on Thursday that had paralysed the World Trade Organization and risked derailing a $1 trillion package of reforms.
India will welcome two trade missions in 2015 focused on meeting its infrastructure needs with US technology and services.
New Delhi has always maintained that its IPR regime is fully compliant with all international laws.
Ways to reduce barriers to Indo-US high-tech trade will top the agenda of the two-day meeting of the High Technology Cooperation Group to be held in New Delhi next week.
'Many said his visit was very risky. But mercifully, Air Force One has taken off from Delhi without Mr Trump stepping on anybody's toes,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The trade deal, officials say, can lead to an effective trading bloc against the China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
We do not know, because there has been no discussion, no transparency and most likely no real thinking on this matter at our end, observes Aakar Patel.
In its latest report '2013 National Trade Estimate: Foreign Trade Barriers' the US Trade Representative has listed out a whole range of difficulties US companies face in India, which according to officials prevent them from realising the full potential of India-US economic relationship.
On Tuesday, Pompeo and Esper will hold the 2+2 talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, covering the entire expanse of defence and security ties as well as key regional and global issues.
India and the United States have signed an agreement for cooperation in the development of Air-Launched Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (ALUAV), in yet another step to further expand bilateral defence and military cooperation.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has met United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and held a productive conversation with him on deepening bilateral defence cooperation, including in the co-production of defence articles, and exchanged perspectives on a variety of security issues.
A Priority Foreign Country is a status reserved for those nations that are the most egregious violators of intellectual property rights and have the most negative impact on US competitiveness abroad.
'2020 will show whether India's troubled domestic economic and political house reveals a mismatch in their strategic association or whether closer strategic ties are yet possible,' says Anita Inder Singh.
India and the US agreed to continue their cooperation in the areas of defence, space and clean energy as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Secretary of State Antony Blinken here, amid a simmering diplomatic row between India and Canada over the killing of a Khalistani separatist.
The US and Indian governments are actively engaged in Bilateral Investment Treaty negotiations.
The issues around trade gaps, especially around steel and aluminium tariffs imposed by the US, will be addressed separately.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden are set to hold bilateral talks on Friday evening with a focus on further solidifying the India-US comprehensive global and strategic partnership.
Flaring of tempers comes atop much simmering trouble on clashing views; these stands might now get frozen.
The US is taking several measures, such as increasing the number of staffers, to further facilitate the issuance of business visas in India, a senior US government official said on Tuesday. "We have also made significant progress by issuing more H1B and L visas in 2022 than we did even in 2019 before the pandemic. "This is a significant improvement. We are in the process of raising our staff," Arun Venkataraman, US Assistant Secretary of Commerce for global markets, said.
Garcetti suggested that the two countries are working on certain agreements to bolster defence cooperation and they are likely to be firmed up when Modi visits the US or President Joe Biden comes to India in September for the G20 summit.
Modi said this 'special invitation' from President Joseph Biden and First Lady Jill Biden for a state visit is a reflection of the vigour and vitality of the partnership between the democracies.
India and the US also agreed to support the efforts of the Harvard Business School and the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad to develop a cluster map.
In a letter to Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Trump said he was determined that New Delhi had "not assured" the US that it would "provide equitable and reasonable access" to the markets of India.
In a post on X, Modi said, "Happy to have welcomed @POTUS @JoeBiden to 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. Our meeting was very productive."
'I hope that the incoming Biden-Harris Administration works with India to address some of the most profound geopolitical transboundary challenges.'
The in-person talks are taking place at a time when India is locked in a tense standoff with China in eastern Ladakh and the Trump administration's growing friction with Beijing over a host of issues including trade tariff and the Chinese military's offensive manoeuvres in the South China Sea.
