MUMBAI (ICIS)–India’s petrochemical industry
players are upbeat that economic relations with
the US will improve under President-elect Joe
Biden.
“Under the Biden-[vice president-elect Kamala]
Harris leadership, the Indo-US economic ties
would go from strength to strength, getting
deeper into areas of advanced scientific
research and development, business-to-business
cooperation in strategic areas,”’ said Deepak
Sood, secretary general of the Associated
Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India
(Assocham), in a statement.
“With rising trade and investment ties between
the two countries, the health of our economies
are inextricably linked and we must work
together during this critical time,” Uday Kotak
President of industry body Confederation of
Indian Industry (CII) said on Twitter.
The US was India’s top export destination in
the fiscal year 2019-20. A total of $53bn worth
of Indian goods went to the US, while imports
stood at $35.7bn.
India expects this trend to continue into the
new presidency, said a senior official at the
Ministry of Commerce.
“It is too early to figure out the new [US]
President’s international policy or economic
decisions. But going by past US-India
relations, the USA could favour an approach
that is favourable to India,” he said.
Biden is expected to boost trades between the
two countries, and possibly restore India’s
status among the US’ trading partners that
enjoy preferential tariffs under its
Generalised System of Preferences (GSP).
Incumbent US President Donald Trump had
removed India from the
GSP list in June 2019, removing the trading
perks the south Asian emerging economy had
enjoyed since 1974.
“Prior to the economic disruption caused by
COVID-19, bilateral trade in goods and services
in 2019, reached a peak of nearly $150bn,” CII
director general Chandrajit Banerjee had said
in a Twitter post on 8 November.
“We can aim higher to our shared goal of $500bn
through a new era of revitalised economic
cooperation, which would be comprehensive,
complementary and collaborative,” Banerjee
said.
It may also be easier to do business with a US
administration headed by Joe Biden as he is
deemed more “trade-friendly” compared with
Trump, industry sources said.
“Joe Biden believes in institutions. The Indian
industry can expect a level of predictability
in the trade regime with Joe Biden as President
of the USA,” said a member of the Federation of
Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).
India is in the process of diversifying sources
of goods as well as boosting domestic
production as part of a strategy to reduce
dependence on Chinese imports.
“The US is also affected by the China
challenge. China has huge economic and
technological heft and to create a less China
centric supply chain, the US may look towards
strengthening business ties with India,” the
commerce ministry…
Read More: India petrochemical sector upbeat on better US relations under Biden