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“Expected Agenda for January’s India-US Trade Policy Forum Includes Visa, Agricultural, and GSP Issues”

During the upcoming two-day meeting commencing on January 13, 2024, India and the US are set to engage in discussions aimed at bolstering trade and investment ties between the two nations. Scheduled as the 14th ministerial-level gathering of the India-US Trade Policy Forum (TPF), the talks will encompass crucial topics such as visas, agricultural trade promotion, and the potential revival of benefits within the American Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, as per an official statement.

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai is slated to meet with India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, where strategies to amplify trade and investment avenues will take center stage. The impending discussions seek to further fortify economic collaboration between the two nations, building upon previous dialogues held during the last meeting in Washington in January 2023. Notably, India emphasized concerns about delays in the issuance of business visas for Indian nationals during the prior session.

Moreover, India is keen on reinstating its beneficiary status under the US GSP initiative, underscoring the significance of this preferential trade program for its interests. In the 13th TPF meeting, both countries inaugurated a new working group focusing on resilient trade, aiming to deepen bilateral discussions spanning various areas, including trade facilitation, fostering a more robust and sustainable trade relationship.

The Trade Policy Forum serves as a platform to address trade and investment-related challenges between India and the US, comprising five core focus groups—Agriculture, Investment, Innovation and Creativity (pertaining to intellectual property rights), Services, and Tariff and Non-Tariff Barriers.

Highlighting the significance of the US as India’s largest trading partner, accounting for approximately 20% of India’s total goods exports, the bilateral relationship continues to expand. The trade volume between both countries has escalated from USD 120 billion in 2021-22 to USD 129.4 billion in 2022-23. Additionally, India attracted USD 6 billion in foreign direct investment from the US during the fiscal year 2022-23, underlining the growing economic ties between the two nations.

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