India-US ties: ‘Many chances for US investors to grow in…’, says Piyush Goyal

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said that there are limitless opportunities for US investors and companies to grow in and with India across various sectors. Goyal made these remarks at a roundtable here hosted by the US-India Business Council (USIBC), part of the US Chamber of Commerce, and Nasdaq. 

He also asserted that this is the right time for them to increase their engagement with the country. 

“India and US relations have been at an all-time high. In addition to strong bilateral relations, we are working closely under platforms such as Quad, I2-U2, IPEF etc," the minister said as quoted by news agency PTI. 

Goyal was making a reference to the Quad grouping of India, US, Australia and Japan, the I2-U2 grouping of India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity.

In an official statement issued by the USIBC, the Commerce Minister said that "for the US companies looking for 'good times', this is the time, this is the right time, to look at India, and engage more with India.”

“There are limitless opportunities all across: from semiconductors to infrastructure to healthcare to manufacturing to innovation to renewables to defence and so on. I am confident that the US industry will make use of these opportunities to grow in India and grow with India,” the statement read. 

Meanwhile, USIBC President Ambassador Atul Keshap and Executive Vice Chairman of Nasdaq and Interim Chair of USIBC’s Global Board of Directors Edward Knight emphasized how India’s G20 presidency this year and the United States’ focus on “friend-shoring” presents a momentous opportunity to highlight the importance of the US-India economic partnership, and a fertile backdrop to make landmark progress on US-India trade issues, PTI reported. 

The USIBC chief also added that as the United States and other like-minded democracies seek to fortify their supply chains, India is a vital friend-shoring partner. 

Goyal is in Washington DC and will attend the 13th Trade Policy Forum (TPF) meeting on January 11. He will also hold a bilateral meeting with US Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai.

The roundtable titled 'Friend-Shoring and the US-India Trade Partnership: Forging Shared Economic Resilience' was attended by executives from the supply chain and logistics, manufacturing, healthcare, digital economy, and financial services sectors.

USIBC members highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship National Logistics Policy as a “game changer,” and as a major step to lowering the costs of doing business in the Indian market and unlocking India’s potential as a global manufacturing and export hub.

Several USIBC members also signaled major new investments in India and plans to expand their manufacturing presence in the country.

(With PTI inputs)