India, US to collaborate on building resilient supply chains: USTR report

As part of its efforts to address the global supply chain crisis, the Joe Biden administration plans to collaborate with India on building resilient supply chains and promote a transparent rules-based trading system for market economies and democracies, the US Trade Representative has told Congress.

In its 2021 Annual Report to Congress, the US Trade Representative (USTR) said the United States and India share a dynamic and important trade and investment relationship. In 2021, the United States and India relaunched the United StatesIndia Trade Policy Forum (TPF), which had not met since 2017.

The United States and India will also collaborate on building resilient supply chains and promoting a transparent, rules-based trading system for market economies and democracies, the USTR said.

When the first wave of COVID-19 hit the world, it caught most businesses off-guard as it disrupted supply chains, especially from China, on an unprecedented scale.

Countries like the US and India have highlighted the importance of having a resilient supply chain network that is more robust and diverse.

In 2022, USTR will look to the TPF to tackle issues that include the relationship between trade, labour, and the environment, it said.

In 2021, the US with India on an ongoing basis in response to specific concerns affecting the full range of the bilateral trade relationship.

In November 2021, the two countries relaunched the United StatesIndia Trade Policy Forum (TPF), which is the principal bilateral forum for discussing trade and investment issues affecting the two countries.

During the TPF meeting, the United States and India had exchanged views on a broad range of trade concerns and issued a joint statement that highlighted the resolution of certain specific trade concerns and identified areas for future engagement through the TPF technical-level workings groups on agricultural goods, non-agricultural goods, services and investment and intellectual property.

These TPF working groups, which include participation by senior-level officials from key US agencies, provide an opportunity to achieve meaningful results and address the general trend of increasingly trade restrictive policies in India that continue to inhibit the potential of the trade relationship.

In addition, the United States has indicated that it would engage the government of India in deeper cooperative dialogue on issues in the areas of labour, environment, digital trade, and good regulatory practices, among others.