13th India-USA Trade Policy Forum (TPF) 2023 held in Washington

India-USA Trade Policy Forum (TPF) 2023 UPSC Relevance

India-USA Trade Policy Forum (TPF) is a very important initiative between India and USA to promote trade relations and trade values. India-USA Trade Policy Forum (TPF) 2023 is also important for UPSC Prelims 2023 Exam and UPSC Mains Exam (GS Paper 2- International Relations).

India-USA Trade Policy Forum (TPF) 2023 in News

• Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal visited Washington D.C. between 10-11 January 2023 to participate in the 13th Ministerial Meeting of the India-U.S. Trade Policy Forum.
• The Ministers underlined the significance of the India-USA TPF in forging robust bilateral trade ties and enhancing the bilateral economic relationship to benefit working people in both countries.

India-USA Trade Policy Forum (TPF) 2023 Highlights

• Increase in Bilateral Trade: Ministers appreciated that bilateral trade in goods and services continued to rise rapidly and reached about $160 billion in 2021.
  • They also recognized that significant potential remains unfulfilled and expressed their mutual desire to further enhance engagement with the goal of continuing to increase and diversify bilateral trade.
• Review of Work: The Ministers reviewed the work done by various working groups which were activated since last TPF meeting.
  • They also directed that work be maintained to advance those issues towards resolution, with regular stock-taking of progress by the Ministers and their senior officials.
• India’s G20 Leadership: Ambassador Tai welcomed India’s G20 Presidency and said the United States looks forward to working together in the Trade and Investment Working Group.
• Resolving WTO Disputes: The Ministers welcomed the intensified negotiations so far and further engagement on outstanding WTO disputes between the two countries to arrive at satisfactory outcomes in the coming months.
• Inspection Indian Facilities by US FDA: India appreciated the resumption of inspections by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and asked the U.S. side to also resume inspections of new facilities and non-priority areas at the earliest.
• Turtle Excluder Device (TED) design: The Ministers welcomed the finalization of the Turtle Excluder Device (TED) design.
  • The collaboration between India and the United States to expedite the TED trials will ensure that the TEDs are effective in minimizing the impact of fishing on sea-turtle populations and restore the market access for India’s export of wild caught shrimp.
• US GSP Program: India highlighted its interest in restoration of its beneficiary status under the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences program.
  • The United States noted that this could be considered, as warranted, in relation to the eligibility criteria determined by the U.S. Congress.
• Social Security totalization agreement: The Ministers acknowledged the ongoing discussions on a Social Security totalization agreement and supported intensifying the work to achieve early outcomes in the matter.

Data on India-US Trade Relations

• Total Bilateral Trade: the bilateral trade between the U.S. and India stood at $119.42 billion in 2021-22 as against $80.51 billion in 2020-21.
• Export to USA: Exports to the U.S. from India increased to $76.11 billion in 2021-22 from $51.62 billion in the previous fiscal year.
• Import from the USA: imports to India from the USA rose to $43.31 billion in 2021-22 from about $29 billion in the previous fiscal year.

 Why India-US Trade Relations is Improving?

• Growing Trust and Cooperation: Growing cooperation in various areas has led to increasing bilateral trade with the U.S.
  • Growing trade is expected to continue in the coming years as New Delhi and Washington are engaged in strengthening economic ties.
• Alternative to China: India is emerging as a trusted trading partner and global firms are reducing their dependence on China for their supplies and are diversifying business into other countries like India.
• Great Potential of Indian Economy: India is the fastest growing market economy with unparalleled demographic dividend and provides enormous opportunities for the U.S. and Indian firms for technology transfer, manufacturing, trade and investment.

USA-India Defense Technology & Trade Initiative

USA-India Defense Technology & Trade Initiative

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