Union Minister of Commerce, Piyush Goyal stated in Washington news conference that there had been a significant exchange of ideas among the officials in an effort to resolve the numerous WTO disputes between India and the US.
Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, on Wednesday stated that India and the US are seeking bilateral resolutions to a number of long-standing World Trade Organization (WTO) disputes between the two nations.
Following the completion of the 13th India-US Trade Policy Forum (TPF) in Washington with his US counterpart United States Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai, Piyush Goyal made these remarks.
During a press conference in Wahington Goyal stated “There was a very robust discussion amongst the officials and today at the ministerial levels at finding solutions to the several WTO disputes that have been going on for several years between US-India. These outstanding issues are areas where both countries have had some wins and some losses,”
Meanwhile 9 to 11 January, the Commerce Minister will be in New York and Washington, D.C., on official business to attend the India-US Trade Policy Forum (TPF). He met with USTR Ambassador Katherine Tai one-on-one and held discussions at the delegation level during his visit.
Speaking to the news conference, Goyal stated that both nations have instructed their officials to engage in “extremely aggressively” negotiations over the following two to three months to find a bilateral resolution to the WTO issues, displaying the mutual trust between the two nations.
He continued “We have directed our officials to engage very aggressively over the next two or three months to see if we can find a bilateral settlement of the WTO issues demonstrating the trust between the two countries and we hope for some satisfactory outcomes,”
The Trade Policy Forum has evolved into a very vigorous and result-oriented conversation on a number of areas of common concern between India and the US since both nations resumed it in a new format with renewed enthusiasm in November 2021, Goyal added.
He stated “The Trade Policy Forum truly is one platform where we have free and frank discussions on a plethora of issues. Some predefined on the table and many which emerged from the discussions,”
He continued “This kind of friendly atmosphere in which India and the US can discuss issues of mutual interest and at times issues that cause concern on either side of countries — discuss in an open atmosphere in a very transparent manner and that the beauty of Trade Policy Forum,”
In an earlier release, Commerce Ministry said both India and USA are natural partners and have trade complementarities, long-standing strategic and economic relationships, people to people contact, and both are vibrant democracies too.
The two countries are also collaborating under the QUAD, I2U2 (India-Israel/ UAE-USA) and IPEF (Indo-Pacific Economic Framework).
Regular exchanges at the leadership-level have been an integral element of the expanding bilateral engagement. The outcomes emerging from these visits have been instrumental in further strengthening the multifaceted ties between the two countries.
The 12th TPF Ministerial meeting was held on 23 November, 2021, after a gap of four years in New Delhi. Working groups were re-activated after the last ministerial. TPF is a platform for continuous engagement between two countries in the area of trade and to further the trade and investment relations between the two countries. However both countries are looking forward to the meeting and confident of making progress on the trade issues. The TPF is chaired by Commerce and Industry Minister from the Indian side and USTR from the US side.