US Commerce Secretary to visit India in March for trade talks

Washington [US], January 12 (ANI): US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will visit India in March this year accompanied by a high-powered delegation of global CEOs, Union Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday.

He made this announcement after the conclusion of the 13th India-US Trade Policy Forum in Washington. “I have had a chance to spend time with US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. We have finalised the dates of the next commercial dialogue and the CEO Forum meeting in India around 9th-10th March,” Union Commerce Minister said during a press conference in Washington DC.

“She will be accompanied by a very high-powered delegation of global CEOs of large multinational companies,” he added.
Besides this, trade talks between the US and India also featured issues concerning resilient supply chains, resolving WTO trade disputes and sustainable finance in connection with clean technology.

During the press conference, Goyal also announced the setting up of the Trade Policy Forum Working Group on Resilient Trade to help create sustainable trade relationships between India and US.

“We have a shared objective of deepening and broadening a US-India trade relationship. And therefore this new Trade Policy Forum Working Group on Resilient Trade will enable both sides to deepen our dialogue on a range of issues which can help us enhance the resilient supply chains and also help us create sustainable trade relationships,” he said.

Addressing the press briefing alongside the Indian ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Goyal said a discussion was also held for re-starting Wild Caught Shrimp exports from India to the US.

“This was an area that was banned by the US because of the concerns around turtles in the areas where Wild Caught Shrimp was being fished in India. A turtle-excluded device has been designed with the technical support of the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) from the US and that design has been accepted by the two countries as a collaborative effort,” he added.

Goyal said that Wild Caught Shrimp was a product of good acceptance in the US market, and it has good potential for trade between the two countries.
India and US are natural partners and have trade complementarities, long-standing strategic and economic relationships, people to people contact, and both are vibrant democracies too, according to an earlier Union Commerce Ministry release.

The two countries are also collaborating under the QUAD, I2U2 (India-Israel/ UAE-USA) and IPEF (Indo-Pacific Economic Framework).
Regular exchanges at the leadership level have been an integral element of the expanding bilateral engagement. The outcomes emerging from these visits have been instrumental in further strengthening the multifaceted ties between the two countries.

The 12th TPF Ministerial meeting was held on November 23, 2021, after a gap of four years in New Delhi. Working groups were re-activated after the last ministerial. TPF is a platform for continuous engagement between two countries in the area of trade and to further the trade and investment relations between the two countries.
Both countries are looking forward to the meeting and confident of making progress on the trade issues. The TPF is chaired by Commerce and Industry Minister from Indian side and USTR from the US side.