India and the United States (US) are set to relaunch the Trade Policy Forum (TPF) after four years on Tuesday, with the aim of boosting trade and investment flows between the two nations.
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, who is on a two-day visit to India, said she hoped to make progress in areas such as the movement of goods and services between the two countries, and easing trade restrictions. market access and high tariffs, and these should be prioritized with India.
“I believe a revived TPF can help our business relationship keep pace with other important aspects of the U.S.-India partnership… at USTR, we very frequently hear from our stakeholders who are not shy about issues that will be familiar to those of you involved in the movement of goods and services between our two countries, market access restrictions, high tariffs, unpredictable regulatory requirements, restricted digital trade measures. These are issues on which we intend to make progress and they will be at the top of my list while I am here,” Tai said after meeting Trade and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.
“I also look forward to discussing how further collaboration on what we call worker-centric policies can benefit our trade relationships. President Biden and I believe that U.S. trade policy requires fundamental change to ensure that our policies and actions are focused on the impact that trade and trade agreements have on real workers,” she said. .
Established in 2005, the India-US TPF last met in October 2017. It was later replaced by negotiations between the two sides on a trade deal. With the Biden administration now insisting on solving irritants first rather than making a mini-deal, the focus is once again on the TPF.
“The commercial relationship between our two countries is a top priority, both for President Biden and for me. That’s why it was important for me to come to India and revive the trade policy forum on my first trip to Asia,” she said.
Goyal said the Trade Policy Forum was just the start of a new chapter in trade relations between the two nations and he hoped to revitalize the platform and resolve outstanding issues.
“I hope our meetings will encourage the business community and investors on both sides to consider greater engagement,” Goyal said.
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