India, US looking forward to further enhancing trade ties: Joint Statement

India and the US on Thursday said they will be looking forward to reconvening the India-US Trade Policy Forum later this year to further enhance trade relationship and identify new areas for engagement.

The two countries have also taken steps towards deepening bilateral cooperation to strengthen the economic relationship, including trade ties, according to a joint statement issued after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden.

"The US-India trade and investment partnership is an engine for global growth, with bilateral trade exceeding USD 191 billion in 2022, nearly doubling from 2014," it said.

Prime Minister Modi and President Biden also applauded the reconvening of the US-India Commercial Dialogue and CEO Forum in March in New Delhi, according to the statement.

They have encouraged respective industries to take action on the recommendations from CEOs for greater engagement and technical cooperation to build resilient supply chains for emerging technologies, clean energy technologies, and pharmaceuticals; promote an innovative digital economy; lower barriers to trade and investment; harmonise standards and regulations wherever feasible; and work towards skilling of workforces, it said.

"The leaders support continued for active engagement between the US Treasury Department and the Indian Ministry of Finance under the Economic and Financial Partnership dialogue," the joint statement said.

They encouraged the US Federal Insurance Office and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India to advance in areas of mutual interest in the insurance sector under their existing MoU framework, it said.

Prime Minister Modi and President Biden have committed their administrations to promoting policies and adapting regulations that facilitate greater technology sharing, co-development, and co-production opportunities between the US and Indian industry, government, and academic institutions, the statement said.

They also welcomed the launch of the interagency-led Strategic Trade Dialogue in June and directed both sides to undertake regular efforts to address export controls, explore ways of enhancing high technology commerce, and facilitate technology transfer between the India and the US.

The statement said Modi and Biden welcomed Air India's historic agreement with Boeing to acquire more than 200 US-made aircraft. This purchase, it said, will support more than one million US jobs across 44 states and contribute to ongoing efforts to modernise the civil aviation sector in India.

Boeing has announced a USD 100 million investment on infrastructure and programmes to train pilots in India, supporting India's need for 31,000 new pilots over the next 20 years.

The leaders also welcomed Boeing's announcement of its completion of a C-17 aftermarket support facility for MRO and a new parts logistics centre in India to capture future synergies between defence and civil aviation.

"India highlighted its interest in the restoration of its status under the US Generalised System of Preferences programme, which could be considered in relation to eligibility criteria determined by the US Congress. The leaders supported intensifying the work to advance progress on issues related to the eligibility criteria," the statement said.

Prime Minister Modi also expressed India's interest towards being recognised as a Trade Agreements Act-designated country by the US to further enhance the integration of both economies and to further promote trade and investment between the two countries.

In this regard, the leaders welcomed the initiation of discussions between both sides at an official level on issues related to bilateral government procurement, it said.

The leaders are committed to pursuing ambitious efforts to strengthen Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) to address shared global challenges of the 21st century, according to the statement.

"By the G20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi, the United States and India will work together to secure G20 commitment to create a major new dedicated pool of funds at the World Bank to deploy concessional lending for global challenges, and to enhance support for crisis response in International Development Association recipient countries," the statement said.

Noting the developments, Chief Executive at General Atomics Global Corporation Vivek Lall said, "We are very happy to note that Prime Minister Modi and President Biden have significantly enhanced the defense relationship between the two countries by announcing the decision to acquire MQ9B for the Indian armed forces." "This is a breakthrough moment for India-US strategic and defence partnership and General Atomics is pleased to be a major contributor in taking it to the next level," Lall said.

Prime Minister Modi is visiting the US from June 21-24 at the invitation of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden.