The U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker is all set to come on a 3-day India trip this week to expand economic ties with India.  

The Hindu reported, the bilateral trade between the countries has reached $ 109 billion and it will get a further boost from new reforms including GST even as it flagged persisting concerns American firms have on issues related to business climate in the fast-growing economy.

The Commerce Secretary said that, the travel and tourism and sub-national engagement have been identified as two new areas of focus to drive commercial cooperation between the two countries in 2017, under which the focus would shift from India and the U.S. to Chennai and Charleston.

She said that, “Our two countries enjoy a thriving trade and investment relationship. U.S.-India bilateral trade reached USD 109 billion in 2015, up from $37 billion in 2005.”

The PTI reported, “US and Indian companies are also investing in each other’s economies at record levels. In 2015, US investment in India reached more than $28 billion and Indian investment in the United States reached more than USD 11 billion. In fact, US affiliates of Indian owned firms now employ more than 52,000 workers in the US,” Ms. Pritzker said in an interview.

“India’s rapidly growing economy and the Modi government’s ambitious reform agenda, including the landmark Goods and Services Tax, passage of the recent national bankruptcy law, and liberalised foreign direct investment limits in key sectors, point toward a deeper economic relationship in the years ahead,” she said.

Ms. Pritzker said on sub-national engagement, that, “Both US and Indian states play a vital role in driving economic growth and setting business climate policy. Companies choose to invest in Charleston, South Carolina or Chennai just as much as they select the US and India.”

“We welcome Prime Minister Modi’s ambitious efforts to improve India’s business climate and enable greater trade and investment. The recent passage of the Goods and Services Tax, for example, is a truly historic accomplishment with potentially far-reaching benefits for the Indian economy and our expanding bilateral trade and investment partnership with India,” she said.

“However, the GST is just one in a series of steps the Indian government has taken to improve the ease of doing business in India. Since taking office in 2014, the Modi government has passed the national bankruptcy law, raised foreign direct investment caps in sectors including defense and insurance, established commercial courts, and ratified the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement,” She added.

“On infrastructure, the Modi government has established Special Purpose Vehicles for smart cities, promoted municipal bonds for urban development, and launched a National Infrastructure Investment Fund. We applaud these reforms and urge the Government of India to prioritise their full implementation.”

“These include unclear tax policies, burdensome regulations, inadequate protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights, and onerous localization requirements. Companies seek a more transparent and predictable policy environment, including consistent notice and comment procedures in the rule-making process, in order to plan investments and inform long-term business decisions,” Ms. Pritzker said.

“Industry also sees promising opportunities to facilitate trade further through streamlining complex and cumbersome customs processing procedures, implementing a single-window approach to government licensing, and increasing predictability and efficiency in government approvals and inspections related to cross-border trade.”

India-US S&CD to reflect upon progress made so far!

Nandini