The Hindu Business Line : `More to be done on trade relationship with the US'

TRADE relationship with the US needs to be more robust even though the recent trends on this front are very positive, according to the Commerce Secretary, Mr S.N. Menon.

Addressing the Second Indo-US Economic Summit here, he said given the kind of political and economic engagement that India has with the US today, it would be logical to expect that the trade and economic relationship would be equally robust.

"However, while the recent trends are very positive, there is much more to be done on trade relationship," he said. The summit is being organised by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce.

Elaborating the trade performance for the first nine months of the calendar year 2005, the Commerce Secretary said that imports from the US to India recorded a 35.34 per cent growth to touch $5.02 billion. On the other hand, India's exports to the US in the same period grew by 18.33 per cent to touch about $13.6 billion. Bilateral trade in 2004 stood at about $22 billion.

"There is an adverse trade balance against the US. We are happy that exports from the US into India are growing and we would like their adverse trade balance to be reduced," he said.

He also said that some of the bilateral issues that keep cropping up between the two countries would need to be addressed within the framework of the four working groups that have been set up as part of the Trade Policy Forum.

"A decision has been taken that within the next six weeks or so these groups would meet and submit their report. Within the next three months, the deputy USTR and the Commerce Secretary would meet to see as to how the issues can be resolved quickly," he said.

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