US-India face shared challenges in areas like climate change, vulnerable supply chains: Katherine Tai
Nov 22, 2021
New Delhi [India], November 22 : United States Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai on Monday said that India and the US face shared challenges in areas like climate change, vulnerable supply chains, and promoting market-oriented principles and structures.
Tai, who is on a two-day visit, attended a welcome reception here hosted by the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal.
While speaking at India-USA Trade Policy Forum 2021, Tai said "India and the US also face shared challenges in areas like climate change, vulnerable supply chains, and promoting market-oriented principles and structures. These areas are ripe for closer collaboration."
Tai also said that trade relations with India are the top priority for President Joe Biden.
"The trade relationship between our two countries is a priority, both for President Biden and for me. That's why it was important for me to come to India and relaunch the Trade Policy Forum (TPF) on my first trip to Asia," she said.
"I know that all of you in this room are similarly invested in the trade relationship. You are putting in the hard work to build commercial ventures, navigate the trading system, and strengthen ties between our countries on a daily basis. The TPF was created to foster those same activities," she noted.
She further stated that there is huge potential for growth between our two economies in areas like the digital economy, services, health-related trade, and even agriculture.
"I believe that a revived TPF can help our trade relationship keep pace with other important aspects of the US-India partnership. But it's clear that bilateral trade is not living up to its potential," she said.
Tai also said that she is looking forward to discussing how further collaboration on worker-centric policies can be benefited between the India-US trade relationship.
"President Biden and I are convinced that US trade policy requires a fundamental shift to ensure that our policies and actions focus on the impact that trade and trade agreements have on real, working people," Tai said, adding that part of that means engaging in new ways with you all, and my Indian government colleagues, to connect trade more directly to working people.
"We are committed to ensuring the trade partnership is both robust and sustainable," she added.
