Govt seeks 'treaty status' from US for visa easing, trade boosting

Discussions on E1, E2 visas aimed at enhancing bilateral trade and investment

India has asked the United States (US) to consider its request for a ‘treaty status’, which will enable easing visas for traders and investors. This will in turn also boost trade between both nations, a senior government official said on Saturday.

“We had a good discussion on visas. There are E1 and E2 visas for traders and investors. The US has 87 treaty countries, including China. We have asked them to include India as well. (If India also becomes a treaty country), it will be easier to process these visas,” the official cited above said.

The discussion comes against the backdrop of the challenges being faced by business visitors from India due to visa processing time periods.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal took up the matter with the US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai during the Trade Policy Forum (TPF) ministerial between both countries on Friday. Goyal also requested the US to augment processing.

During the meeting, Goyal also conveyed India’s interest in being recognized as a Trade Agreements Act-designated country by the US. Goyal and Tai also highlighted the initiation in 2023 of discussions on issues related to bilateral government procurement, such as transparency and procedural fairness, and welcomed plans for further technical engagement between their officials.

Being a part of the Trade Agreements Act will help India to participate in the US’s public procurement system. “Countries who are a part of TAA are eligible to be a part of the government procurement system. They have started discussions with us,” another government official said.

According to the first person cited above, public procurement by the US government is huge, and it will eventually enhance India’s goods exports. However, it is reciprocal in nature. This means that India will also have to give concessions in its public procurement plan. India will also have to ensure that it doesn’t have an impact on its ambitious Make in India programme.