Trade Liberalisation: India ready for treaty talks with US

Bilateral trade between India and the US currently runs at $106 billion annually, but foreign investment has fallen.

NEW DELHI: India is ready for talks with the United States (US) on a bilateral investment treaty, according to Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma. Sharma and Finance Minister P Chidambaram were in the US the past week meeting political and business leaders to pitch for greater investment, with the goal of $500 billion in two-way trade by 2020. “Economic engagement in both trade and investment, though robust, is well below potential, given the opportunities growing economies like India offers and the opportunities in the largest economy of the United States,” Sharma added. Bilateral trade between India and the United States currently runs at $106 billion annually. However, foreign direct investment has fallen in India amidst bureaucratic hurdles, political paralysis and widespread corruption.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 14^th, 2013.

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