G20 Highlights Need to Restart U.S.-India Trade Talks
Today’s start of the G20 conference in Argentina reminds the world of the crucial role the United States, Japan, and India must play to shape the future of the Indo-Pacific together. President Trump met today with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the G-20 summit – a signal that all three countries see a need for stronger partnerships to set the right future for the Indo-Pacific region.
A missing piece to the Indo-Pacific strategic framework is trade. Trade relations must contribute to, rather than detract from, this cooperation. The U.S. and India agreed in mid-2017 to further expand and balance their trade relationship, creating greater opportunities for growth and job creation. But it took more than a year for formal discussions actually to start, and in recent weeks the process appears to have broken down.
India must get serious about resolving a multitude of problems. AFTI has argued forcefully for the need for India to change approach to the U.S. as a trading partner, unlocking market access for several globally competitive U.S. industries, including the medical device, information and communications technology, mining, and agricultural sectors and boosting two-way trade that will benefit both countries.
We encourage the U.S. and India restart trade negotiations, make timely progress on trade barriers that would allow India to continue to benefit fully from the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Program. Improving U.S.-India trade relations can be a critical link to building a stronger trilateral relationship between the United States, India and Japan – but only if India gets serious.
Learn more about the challenges AFTI members face here:
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