iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
President Joe Biden, after entering the oval office, has been busy clearing out major backlogs that the Trump administration had been lagging on.
With India being one of the key nations for the US in regards to trade and commercial dealings, the last four years were technically a laggard. Now in order to strengthen the partnership and get back on the map, the US-India Business Council(USIBC) recommended a slew of big ideas to the new Biden Administration, on Tuesday, 26 January.
His top priority is cleaning up the mess inside the US border and set things on course for sustainable and inclusive growth. When all that is set in place, he can begin to focus on restrengthening his international partnerships.
With India, some of the key ideas that the council recommended are reconstituting the existing US-India Trade and Commercial dialogue and creating a new digital partnership under the headship of Vice President Kamala Harris.
USIBC on the occasion of India’s 72nd Republic Day, also recommended to the Biden administration to restructure the US-India Strategic Energy Dialogue to include Climate and Sustainable Growth and create a US-India Scholars Endowment to support higher education exchanges.
The ideas also include reimagining and reconstitute existing US-India Trade and Commercial Dialogues into a single US-India Strategic Trade Dialogue, creating a new US-India Global Digital Partnership to be headed by Vice President Harris, and restructuring the US-India Health Dialogue to expand the mandate and include private sector participation, according to the USIBC.
USIBC president Nisha Desai Biswal said: “As leaders around the globe reconsider their approach to global trade and investment, both the US and India can and should do more to achieve the shared goal of $500 billion in two-way trade”.
As the two biggest democracies in the world, the US and India share a common set of values, cultures of entrepreneurship, as well as long-standing people-to-people ties. This makes India and the US a natural partner.
Between these two countries, there are enormous untapped potential. The right kind of business-friendly policies can unlock upwards of $150 billion in new trade over the next four years, the USIBC said.
In its submission, the USIBC recommended that the new USISTD be co-chaired by the US Secretary of Commerce, the US Secretary of State, and the US Trade Representative, who would invite the Government of India to name similar counterparts.
The USISTD should focus on reducing trade impediments to strengthen the strategic relationship and support a goal of $ 500 billion in two-way trade by 2024, it said.
The USIBC has also recommended the two sides set up an expert group consisting of senior officials, industry representatives and academic thought leaders to build a document for discussion under the USISTD.