Obama, Modi Praise Trade Relations, Vow to Make Progress in Bilateral Ties
President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlined a series of commitments to improve bilateral trade and investment on Jan. 25 after a summit in New Delhi. The two leaders also praised skyrocketing trade and investment between the U.S. and India in joint comments (here). Obama backed up those statements the following day with pledges for new U.S. financing initiatives to boost trade and investment while giving a speech to the U.S.-India Business Council Summit.
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The two leaders praised the bilateral breakthrough in late 2014 that paved the way for implementation of the World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement (here). After brokering a compromise on WTO food security rules, the U.S., India and the other WTO members adopted the TFA protocol in November (see 1411280027). Obama and Modi also highlighted the need to hammer out progress in the other agreements struck during the 2013 Bali ministerial. The U.S. ratified the TFA on Jan. 23 (here).
The leaders “agreed to continue to strengthen their broad-based partnership for development through stronger trade, technology, manufacturing, and investment linkages between the two countries and triangular cooperation with partner countries, and that continued efforts to maintain labor standards as per domestic law and agreed international norms will make these linkages more durable,” said a joint statement (here).
U.S. industry representatives continue to push the administration to pressure the Indian government to slash some barriers to trade and investment. Some say the Indian government is ramping up duties on goods that qualify under the WTO Information Technology Agreement (see 1501220030). The U.S. and India aim to move ahead to remove trade obstacles for high-tech goods under the bilateral High Technology Cooperation Group, and specifically the two sides want to reach a deal for U.S. license requirements on dual-use items.
But House Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., also called for more action to ease U.S. export flows into India. “With Prime Minister Modi’s promises of reenergizing the India economy, the Administration needs to make serious strides in promoting stronger trade relations,” he said in a statement (here). “While the U.S. and India have made progress in recent years in bolstering bilateral trade, we haven’t come close to realizing the full potential of this relationship. If we’re to meet the Administration’s goal of $500 billion in bilateral trade, the president needs to take significant steps in helping to open up Indian markets.”