New Delhi, Jan 12 (FN Agency) India and the United States have underlined the significance of the Trade Policy Forum (TPF) in forging robust bilateral trade ties and enhancing the bilateral economic relationship to benefit working people in both countries. In a joint statement after holding a bilateral ministerial level meeting at Washington DC on January 11, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and US Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai said the bilateral trade in goods and services continued to rise rapidly and reached about $160 billion in 2021 and recognized that for economies of their size, significant potential remains unfulfilled and expressed their mutual desire to further enhance engagement with the goal of continuing to increase and diversify bilateral trade.
Highlighting the work undertaken through the TPF working groups since the 12th TPF ministerial, they reiterated the importance to India and the United States of specific trade issues enumerated in the 2021 TPF joint statement and directed that work be maintained to advance those issues towards resolution, with regular stock-taking of progress by the ministers and their senior officials, an official statement said on Thursday. The United States welcomed India’s participation in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF). The ministers welcomed the results achieved at the WTO’s Twelfth Ministerial Conference and expressed their shared intention to continue to work constructively at the WTO, including on WTO ministerial decisions, to achieve tangible, realistic, and meaningful outcomes. Ambassador Tai welcomed India’s G20 Presidency and said the United States looks forward to working together in the Trade and Investment Working Group.
The ministers expressed their intent to continue to work together on resolving outstanding trade issues and highlighted upcoming engagement on a select number of those issues. The United States appreciated India’s initial public consultation on the draft Drugs, Medical Devices, and Cosmetics Act and India noted that comments and suggestions on the draft bill are being examined as per standard procedures for introduction in the parliament. The United States and India acknowledged the importance of continuing to engage on relevant rules and regulations going forward. The United States also welcomed India’s commitment to provide public notice and comment periods as it considers new quality control orders and ensure that the measures shall not be more trade restrictive than necessary in line with the WTO TBT. The Ministers welcomed the finalization of the Turtle Excluder Device (TED) design with the technical support of NOAA. 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, they said.
The United States welcomed the efforts to streamline regulations on certain electronic devices under Mandatory Testing and Certification of Telecommunication Equipment (MTCTE) and Compulsory Registration Order (CRO) in order to reduce the compliance burden and facilitate the ease of doing business. Both sides highlighted their interest in exchanging information on the use of international standards, conformity assessment procedures, and the Common Criteria Recognition Arrangement (CCRA) in the electronics sector. The ministers welcomed continued engagement on intellectual property (IP) and reiterated that the protection and enforcement of IP contributes to the promotion of innovation as well as bilateral trade and investment in IP-intensive industries, the statement added.