Opportunities to strengthen economic ties between the US and Tamil Nadu are high in a wide range of sectors, said Judith Ravin, US Consul General, Chennai.

Speaking at a Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) roadshow here on Friday, she said the private sector is the engine driving growth in both the countries. “We look forward to further strengthening our partnerships particularly in areas of aerospace, IT, education, manufacturing, energy, entrepreneurship, and climate change,” she said.

The last 10 years have seen substantial progress in improving the trade ties between the two countries. The bilateral trade of goods and services between the two countries in 2021 was over $159 billion. Foreign direct investment into the US from India stands at $12.7 billion and FDI from the US into India is at $41.9 billion.

According to Gaurav Daga, Associate Vice-President of Guidance Tamil Nadu, over 300 US companies have invested nearly $11 billion in Tamil Nadu in sectors such as automobile, building materials, and chemicals. The Guidance Tamil Nadu is also promoting starts-ups in the US to invest in the State. Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Namakkal and the Nilgiris are export hubs in the western region of the State.

A. Sakthivel, president of Federation of Indian Export Organisations, said India and the US have a lot of potential to strengthen economic ties. India has a positive trade balance and bilateral trade between the two countries should reach $ 500 billion by 2027.

Sanjay Jayavarthanavelu, Chairman and Managing Director of Lakshmi Machine Works, said the tie-up between the US and India is growing stronger and it is not just in trade but in investment too.

Chairman of Indo-American Chamber of Commerce - Tamil Nadu, Arun Miranda, said that in the last five years there is a huge shift of manufacturing to countries such as India, Indonesia and Vietnam. The IACC chose Coimbatore for the road show as the region is a leader in sectors such as precision engineering and textiles.

K. Ramasamy, convenor of Indo-American Chamber of Commerce Roadshow, said the US offers good opportunity to Indian businesses not only to export and import but to invest too.

S. Chandrasekar, co-ordinatory of the Roadshow, said the website www.iacckonguconnect.com is a permanent data base of manufacturers and exporters in the western region and it is a platform to connect businesses here and those in the US.

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