India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Michael Froman, met in Delhi on October 20, 2016, for the tenth ministerial-level meeting of the India and United States Trade Policy Forum, or TPF.
The Ministers agreed that the TPF has greatly strengthened U.S. – India engagement on bilateral trade and has increased trade and enhanced the overall economic relationship. In addition to the High Level Working Group on Intellectual Property and the Manufacturing Dialogue that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Obama launched under the TPF, the Forum has gained momentum with regular Ministerial meetings in 2014, 2015 and 2016, supported by inter-ministerial efforts of established working groups on agriculture, trade in services and trade in goods, promoting investment in manufacturing, and intellectual property.
While welcoming the success of the TPF to date, and that two-way bilateral goods and services trade reached $109 billion in 2015, the Ministers recognized that for economies of their size, a great deal of potential remains. They acknowledged that open access to the U.S. market remains an important factor in driving trade growth and has contributed to the U.S. becoming India’s top export destination. More than 15 percent of all India’s exports go to the U.S., but India represents only 1.4 percent of U.S. exports, highlighting greater potential for trade and the need for accelerating economic reforms and market opening.
The United States is proud to work with its partner India to promote trade and prosperity for both nations, the Asia – Pacific region and the world.
