NEW DELHI, Apr 5: The US will continue to be the sheet anchor of India’s exports of goods and services in the government’s scheme of things even as the Indian exporters seek diversification of markets in Latin America and western Africa . The US is one of the most prominent traditional markets for India’s products and services and has helped Indian producers in evolving their capacities both in merchandise and services products standards, technology, processes, etc. The recent macroeconomic data clearly shows that the US economy is doing well with a growth rate of 3.1 percent per annum, according to the strategy devised in the recently unveiled Foreign Trade Policy (FTP). Among services, the information technology would raise the overall exports to the US to approximately 100 billion dollar. Enhancing trade and investment linkages with the US economy offers India a unique opportunity for finding markets for its technology products and services and products from high-employment creating sectors such as textiles, agriculture, leather and gems & jewellery. However, dealing with the US would require resolution of certain contentious issues. There are challenges relating to area such as intellectual property rights, immigration policies of the US Government, labour and skill related policies of the US Government. Therefore, while on the one hand, the focus will be on promoting Indian exports in identified sectors, on the other hand, regular dialogue will be held with the US stakeholders in order to make India’s perspective on these issues clear. Important aspects of the bilateral ties include access for Indian high skilled professionals in US markets and resolution of the issue relating to social security contributions by Indian workers in the US, through the early conclusion of a Totalisation Agreement between the two countries. Bilateral investment is a prominent tool within the bouquet of instruments of economic engagement between the two countries.
(UNI)
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel