India-US Relations
- Thread starter Butter Chicken
- Start date
Amid 'Putin's barbaric war', US official calls India 'an indispensable partner'
Yellen’s remarks come at a time when India has made clear that it would continue to buy Russian oil at a discount, because this benefits India's economy, despite the efforts of the United States and Western allies to impose a price cap on Russian oil exports.
India to pip China in getting US visas by 2023, to be No. 2 - Times of India
Times of India brings the Latest & Top Breaking News on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Cricket, Sports, Business, Bollywood News and Entertainment, Science, Technology, Health & Fitness news & opinions from leading columnists.
m.timesofindia.com
US Treasury removes India from its Currency Monitoring List
The move came on a day when Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen visited New Delhi and held talks with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
India can buy as much Russian oil as it wants, outside price cap, says US
US Treasury Secretary said Russian oil "is going to be selling at bargain prices and we're happy to have India get that bargain or Africa or China.
India sends more vacuum gasoil to the US as the West shuns Russian oil - Times of India
Times of India brings the Latest & Top Breaking News on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Cricket, Sports, Business, Bollywood News and Entertainment, Science, Technology, Health & Fitness news & opinions from leading columnists.
m.timesofindia.com
Friendshore to firm up supply chains: US treasury secretary - Times of India
Times of India brings the Latest & Top Breaking News on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Cricket, Sports, Business, Bollywood News and Entertainment, Science, Technology, Health & Fitness news & opinions from leading columnists.
m.timesofindia.com
Joint Statement on the 9th India-U.S. Economic and Financial Partnership
Indian Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman and United States Treasury Secretary Dr. Janet L. Yellen met here today for the 9th meeting of India-U.S. Economic and Financial Partnership.
Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman and United States Treasury Secretary Dr. Janet L. Yellen give opening remarks at the start of the meeting of 9th India-US Economic Financial Partnership, in New Delhi.
Following the conclusion of the dialogue, Finance Minister Smt. Sitharaman and Treasury Secretary Dr. Yellen signed the following joint statement:
We were pleased to lead for a second consecutive year the India-U.S. Economic and Financial Partnership meeting and to welcome Federal Reserve Chair Mr Jerome Powell, Governor Reserve Bank of India Shri Shaktikanta Das, and other participants.
The U.S. Treasury and Ministry of Finance launched our Economic and Financial Partnership in 2010 as a framework to cement the economic bonds between our two nations and build a foundation for greater cooperation and economic growth. At this ninth meeting of the Economic and Financial Partnership we reaffirmed that our regular dialogue is crucial to the U.S.-India economic relationship and to advancing global efforts to tackle pressing economic challenges.
During the ministerial meeting, we took stock of the extensive efforts that have recently been undertaken by both sides to deepen cooperation in a number of areas and we enhanced our mutual understanding on topics of global consequence. We had productive discussions on a range of subjects, including the macroeconomic outlook, supply chain resilience, climate finance, multilateral engagement, global debt vulnerabilities, anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism.
Today’s meeting featured a dedicated session on climate finance for the second time under the Economic and Financial Partnership, reflecting our respective commitments to drive urgent progress in combating climate change by collaborating closely on the shared goal of scaling up and mobilizing climate finance to meet our ambitious climate goals. We shared views on the re-energized global efforts to increase climate ambition as well as our respective domestic efforts to meet our publicly expressed climate goals. We agreed that public finance, when paired with enabling policies, can promote private finance. We also noted the importance of the evolving role of the multilateral development banks (MDBs) to better address global challenges, including climate change. We acknowledge the developed country goal to jointly mobilize $100 billion every year till 2025 from public and private sources for developing countries, in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation. We also agree to work together in arriving at a new collective quantified goal from a floor of $100 billion annually for the post 2025 period, taking into account the needs and priorities of developing countries. We agreed that India and the U.S. should work together with partners to pursue a broad mix of public and private financing to facilitate India’s energy transition in line with its nationally determined climate goals and capabilities. We also look forward to continuing the discussion of climate-aligned finance under the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group with US as the co-chair and India holding the G20 Presidency next year.
In the context of the conflict in Ukraine, we discussed the current headwinds to the global macroeconomic outlook including increased commodity and energy prices as well as supply side disruptions, and we reemphasized our commitment to the central role of multilateral cooperation in addressing these global macroeconomic challenges. Both sides affirmed their commitment to debt sustainability, transparency in bilateral lending, and coordinating closely on extending fair and equal debt treatment to countries facing debt distress. We reiterated our commitment to step up our efforts to implement the G20 Common Framework for Debt Treatment in a predictable, timely, orderly and coordinated manner. We acknowledged the importance of working through MDBs to help India access and mobilize available financing to support development objectives, including climate action. We plan to continue engaging on these and other global economic issues both multilaterally and bilaterally. India and the United States look forward to continued collaboration to meet the most pressing global challenges under India’s G20 Presidency commencing December this year. The United States warmly welcomes India’s upcoming leadership role and stands ready to support India in hosting a successful and productive year.
We welcome the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework political agreement as representing a significant accomplishment for updating the international tax architecture to reflect the modern economy and establish an international tax system that is more stable, fairer, and fit for purpose for the 21st century. We welcome the progress on Pillar One and reaffirm our commitment to work together and with all partners to expeditiously complete the remaining technical work on Pillar One with respect to Amount A and Amount B. We call on the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) to conclude work on the Multilateral Convention during the first half of 2023. We look forward to the completion of the GloBE Implementation Framework under Pillar Two and call on member countries and the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS to conclude the negotiations on the Subject to Tax Rule (STTR).
Both countries will continue to work to enhance mutual collaboration in sharing of information to tackle offshore tax evasion. India and the United States make note of the progress made under the Inter-Governmental Agreement pursuant to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) with respect to sharing of financial account information. The two sides will continue to engage in discussions on full reciprocal arrangement on FATCA.
The United States and India look forward to sustained engagement through the longstanding U.S.-India Financial Regulatory Dialogue, a platform for discussing emerging financial sector issues and priority areas, including banking and insurance sector reforms, capital market development, digital assets and payment system modernization, sustainable finance, and data security and protection frameworks. Both countries underscore their commitment towards exploring promising avenues of mutual collaboration, including India’s maiden IFSC in GIFT City, Gujarat, during the 11th U.S.-India Financial Regulatory Dialogue to be held in the first half of 2023.
We are continuing our successful collaboration on attracting more private sector capital to finance India’s infrastructure needs, which will support growth in both countries. The Treasury Department continues to provide technical support to India’s National Infrastructure and Investment Fund (NIIF), including the scaling of debt and equity platforms devoted to renewable energy and implementing new environmental, social, and corporate governance policies to meet international standards, while catalyzing private institutional investment in Indian infrastructure. We are also collaborating through continued technical support for the issuance of municipal bonds for critical urban infrastructure improvements. India and the United States look forward to working together to prepare more cities to issue municipal bonds.
We continue to strengthen our cooperation in anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) efforts, through increased information sharing and coordination, including expeditious sharing of digital evidence and information for ML/TF investigations, as well as through the U.S.-India AML/CFT bilateral dialogue. Both sides agree on the importance of fighting financial crimes and on the effective implementation of the Financial Action Task Force standards to protect our financial systems from abuse. Moving forward, the United States and India will continue to exchange views on best practices and solutions for combating AML/CFT challenges.
This ninth meeting of the Economic and Financial Partnership reflected the growing importance of the U.S.-India relationship and the increasing economic and financial ties between our two economies. Both sides eagerly anticipate continued dialogue under the Economic and Financial Partnership and the further strengthening of our bilateral relationship.
Joint Statement on the 9th India-U.S. Economic and Financial Partnership
Indian Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman and United States Treas
pib.gov.in
India-U.S. CEO Forum held virtually; Forum chaired jointly by Shri Piyush Goyal and Ms. Gina Raimondo, US Secretary of Commerce
The India-U.S. CEO Forum, chaired jointly by Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and Textiles and Ms. Gina Raimondo, US Secretary of Commerce was held virtually today.This is the sixth time the Forum has been convened since its reconstitution in December 2014 by the Governments of India and the USA. The Forum continues to be an effective platform for dialogue across key sectoral themes and to identify areas for closer collaboration for mutual benefit of both economies. Senior government functionaries, including Mr. Taranjit Sandhu, the Indian Ambassador to the US also participated in the meeting.
The CEO Forum, comprising of CEOs from leading Indian and US based companies, is co-chaired by Mr. N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons and Mr. James Taiclet, President and Chief Executive Officer, Lockheed Martin.
Shri Goyal highlighted the significant growth of the India-U.S. economic relations driven by the common interest of promoting sustainability, emerging technologies, globally resilient supply chains, and small businesses. He also reiterated the importance of such dialogues in leveraging this momentum. Secretary Raimondo thanked Shri Piyush Goyal, the co-Chairs and CEO forum members for their participation and insightful identification of common focus areas that will further bolster the bilateral partnership between the two nations.
CEOs from both sides commended the two governments for implementing transformative reforms and initiatives undertaken to strengthen bilateral cooperation. The CEOs, under the seven working groups, presented priority areas to create stronger partnerships and boost growth across various critical areas such as Entrepreneurship and Promoting Small Businesses, Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals, Aerospace and Defence, ICT and Digital Infrastructure, Energy, Water and Environment, Infrastructure and Manufacturing, Financial Services, Trade and Investments, among others.
This dialogue will serve as the framework under which specific recommendations will be charted out during the sixth edition of the India-US CEO Forum, due to be held early next year.
India-U.S. CEO Forum held virtually; Forum chaired jointly by Shri Piyush Goyal and Ms. Gina Raimondo, US Secretary of Commerce
The India-U.S. CEO Forum, chaired jointly by Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Indus
pib.gov.in
‘India’s emergence as an economic behemoth bringing it closer to U.S.’
‘According to official figures, the overall US-India bilateral trade in goods and services reached a record $157 billion, a drastic increase from the 2020 trade figures,’ says Mukesh Aghi.
Washington DC: India-US business and trade relations are on a new high in the post-Covid era. Particularly after India has got its coveted membership in the world’s top five economies, which has made the South Asian tiger the new Asian emerging giant. The Sunday Guardian spoke to Mukesh Aghi, CEO and President of US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), the apex platform for all business, trade and investments between the two democracies. “India has emerged as an economic behemoth, and a South Asian tiger, opening prospects for a constructive India-US business diplomacy”, says Aghi. Excerpts:Q: How do you imagine India-US business diplomacy in the current post-Covid scenario?
A: The US-India relationship has been dubbed as the most important strategic partnership of the 21st century. I have witnessed how the relationship has moved beyond symbolic platitudes between the world’s oldest and largest democracies to robust engagements across trade, defence, climate and technology. While we celebrate 75 years of US-India relations, it is important to note that the economic story has been shorter, only over 30 years since India’s economic reforms of 1991. Despite economic blips during the pandemic, the bilateral trade between India and the US has crossed the $100 billion mark in 2021. According to official figures, the overall US-India bilateral trade in goods and services reached a record $157 billion, a drastic increase from the 2020 trade figures.
The pandemic presented an opportunity for India and the US to collaborate on vaccine delivery, India with its pharmaceutical sector strengths and the US with its logistics network, and now the post pandemic era has thrown economic synergy across climate, technology, rebuilding resilient supply chains and continuing vaccine through the Quad, I2U2 and now collaboration on IPEF.
There is deep collaboration between various ministries. Secretary Janet Yellen of Treasury is in India meeting with her counterpart, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri recently worked with his counterpart, Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm on the Strategic Clean Energy Partnership, and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and USTR Katherine Tai are in regular conversations on trade.
Q: Do you see new strength areas emerging as India and the US try to build a strong narrative on strategic relationship?
A: Supply chain focus is a major issue since the pandemic has evinced that companies need a China Plus One strategy. The fact that Apple is looking to make the iPhone 14 in India shows that Government of India’s focus on manufacturing in form of PLI schemes and Make in India strategy is succeeding in wooing top American tech companies. There is also room for synergy not just in tech but space collaboration, as India and the US both have scientific prowess and with increased privatization and a growing list of unicorns in India, space tech startups will be a new engine of economic growth and scientific synergy.
Q: Coming to India’s new status as the top five global economies, how is that going to affect India’s status in the global markets?
A: The US understands India’s economic potential as Asia’s third-largest economy and the fifth largest in the world. India’s robust economy and thriving workforce present lucrative market opportunities for American enterprises. US multinationals are allured by the size of the market, a young demographic largely under the age of 35, tech prowess, and a vast English-speaking demographic, which gives India a distinct advantage and can compete with the China market.
India has emerged as an economic behemoth, a South Asian tiger and this has helped forge a close economic partnership between our two countries. Of course, one of the priorities for this government has been to improve the ease of doing business environment in the country, which has traditionally baffled overseas investors. New schemes like PM Gati Shakti, the National Logistics Pipeline will help solidify infrastructure and logistics constraints and attract more overseas investors.
Q: Will the current US media reports on India-US ties getting affected in the context of India’s stand in the Ukraine-Russia war have any significant effect on the current relationship?
A: Far from it. In the last three decades, the bilateral relationship is truly bipartisan across political ideologies on both sides. While India has made it clear that its abstentions on the war at the UN were not a vote for Russia, but merely following India’s path of strategic autonomy. On the defence side, even Secretary Antony Blinken has acknowledged that for 50 years, there was no defence relationship with India, therefore, there was a large dependence on Soviet-era weaponry. Also, India is one of the world’s largest energy importers and has a population of 1.4 billion people, and hence India rightly prioritises energy security for its most vulnerable populations.
The important caveat is that the relationship is so robust, that while we both may not have the same position on all issues, we understand each other’s geographic constraints and national interests, and hence that does not impede our collaboration on defence, commerce, and people-to-people ties.
Q: Will the isolation of China in the global demand-supply chain help India to establish itself in global markets? How much that would help India to enter in strategic business with the US?
A: As mentioned, one of the core aspects has been a China Plus One strategy. American companies not only are price sensitive but want transparent markets. It’s here that the political systems of India align closely with the shared democratic values of the United States, and investors find this transparency and strong government-to-government relations as a bonus when it comes to dealing with India over China.
While business is not a zero-sum game, but Apple’s main iPhone assembler, Foxconn will be manufacturing the devices at its Sriperumbudur factory on the outskirts of Chennai. The overarching reasons are, Beijing’s strict Covid protocols that have slowed down business processes, the need to find alternative manufacturing sources apart from China, and Government of India’s PLI and Make in India initiatives that seek to woo high-end tech manufacturing.
India, apart from its young demographic dividend, presents a cost-effective market for Apple to gain a stronger foothold in India, where the consumer is price sensitive and Chinese mobile phones have long dominated one of the largest mobile markets.
Apple’s entry and as the leading tech giant will set a precedent for many other companies.
Q: What is the status of current India-US investments both ways?
A: India and the US have restarted the Trade Policy Forum (TPF) last year after a hiatus of four years. This presents a unique forum where Commerce and Industry Minister and USTR Katherine Tai can work on unresolved trade issues. New Delhi has inked several key deals with partners like the UAE and Australia and one is in the works with the UK. The TPF presents a unique forum to address specific issues to increase our bilateral trade partnership. The US has overtaken China to be India’s largest trading partner with bilateral trade of well over $100 billion. Minister Goyal has stated at past USISPF Leadership Summits that he would like that figure to touch a $1 trillion in bilateral trade by the year 2030. Minister Chandrasekhar says India’s digital economy alone can be a $1 trillion in the six to seven years, and for that, the US as the leading tech market will have to lead with investments. Our joint collaboration on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), Quad and I2U2 presents opportunities to strengthen bilateral trade through mini-lateral forums.
‘India’s emergence as an economic behemoth bringing it closer to U.S.’ - The Sunday Guardian Live
‘According to official figures, the overall US-India bilateral trade in goods and services reached a record $157 billion, a drastic increase from the 2020
www.sundayguardianlive.com
