India and US hold 13th Trade Policy Forum meet, discuss stronger economic partnership

The India-US Trade Policy Forum has led to a smoother environment for businesses from both sides to expand their trade and investment, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.

He was briefing the media after the conclusion of 13th Ministerial Trade Policy Forum (TPF) dialogue at Washington DC.

TPF, which was relaunched in a new form in November 2021, has become a very robust and outcome oriented platform to have free and frank discussion on a plethora of issues of mutual interest, Goyal added.

Goyal said that issues related to resolving WTO disputes, restarting of exports of wild caught shrimps, speeding up of business visas, resilient supply chains, data flow and addressing climate change were discussed during the meeting.

Both countries also had a robust discussion on finding bilateral solutions to outstanding WTO disputes between them.

During the TPF meeting, both ministers stressed the importance of the forum in establishing strong bilateral trade links and expanding the bilateral economic partnership to benefit working people in both countries.

The Ministers also discussed the work completed by several working groups that have been active since the previous TPF meeting, and they directed that the work be continued to move those issues closer to resolution, with frequent stock-takings of progress by the Ministers and their senior staff.

Additionally, Ambassador Tai congratulated India on its G20 presidency and expressed the eagerness of the United States to collaborate with them in the Trade and Investment Working Group.

They appreciated the ongoing, more intense talks as well as future discussions regarding the two nations' unresolved WTO disputes in order to reach suitable resolutions in the upcoming months.

India expressed its appreciation for the FDA's return to inspections and requested that they restart inspections of new facilities and non-priority regions as soon as possible. Furthermore, India expressed a desire to regain its beneficiary status under the US Generalized System of Preferences. The United States also acknowledged that this may be taken into account if it is justified in light of the requirements set forth by the US Congress.

As thriving democracies, India and the USA are ideal allies due to their complementary trade links, historical strategic and economic ties, and interpersonal contacts. Union minister Piyush Goyal’s US trip will further strengthen the close relations that already exist between India and the US, the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry noted.