Fast track mechanism for US companies

Chief executives of Indian-US businesses have made recommendations on a wide range of industries and have expressed commitment to work together for benefit of commerce and industry in both the countries.

The CEOs, after detailed deliberations, provided their recommendations relating to energy, water, environment, information and communication technology, emerging technologies, digital infrastructure, entrepreneurship and inclusive growth, promoting small business, and infrastructure and manufacturing.

Responding, Commerce Minister, Suresh Prabhu and US Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, have expressed their resolve to work together to consider the recommendations for appropriate action.

The CEO Forum and the India-US Commercial Dialogue and were held in New Delhi on 14 Feb 2019.

It was chaired by Prabhu while Ross joined through teleconference, the Indian Commerce and Industry Ministry said in a release.

The sides assessed the progress made during the year 2018 on the commercial track targets and appreciated the performance in the areas of standards, business climate and investment and travel and tourism.

Both sides resolved to further expand and strengthen trade and commerce ties. They appreciated the importance of bilateral engagements in mutually beneficial areas to address commerce and trade issues.

The CEO Forum was co-chaired by Chairman of Tata Sons, N. Chandrasekaran and President and CEO of American Tower Corporation, James D. Taiclet. The two Governments were represented by Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ramesh Abhishek and US Ambassador in India, Kenneth Juster.

The CEO Forum is an effective platform to highlight key issues that affect business entities and to identify areas for closer collaboration for mutual benefit of both economies.

It has met thrice after its reconstitution in December 2014 by the Governments of India and USA.

Appreciating the pivotal role of small businesses, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the areas of manufacturing and services, the sides expressed interest in facilitating partnerships among businesses and institutions with a view to encourage best practices, conducive policies, and collaboration for SMEs in both countries.

The US Department of Commerce has taken the initiative to organize Trade Winds event which will bring in a lot of SMEs having interest in India in May 2019. Both sides agreed to constitute a private sector led SME initiative on the side lines of this event.

The sides, assessing the progress made during the year 2018 by the standards work stream, welcomed the appreciable development on cooperation between the Indian National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and the US.

The progress made by NPL in identifying sectors for reference material production was appreciated and it was hoped that the technical collaboration between the two institutions will enable NPL to commercialize the certified reference material development.

The sides welcomed the MoU signed between National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB) of India and ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) of the United States for cooperation in matters related to accreditation.

The sides welcomed the progress made during 2018 on the MoU between the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and appreciated the utility of an India-US Standards Portal in letting the private business know about the standards and the conformance procedure in each other’s territory.

Both sides appreciated the progress achieved under the Indian-US State Spotlight Webinar Series. They noted the successful webinars conducted with the states of Odisha, Michigan, Washington, Texas, and West Bengal to highlight trade and investment opportunities in those states for US and Indian companies.

In an effort to ease the operations of US companies in India, a fast track mechanism has been established, under which two roundtables were held in 2018 to address the concerns of these companies. In addition, three more roundtables were also conducted in 2018 with U.S. companies for resolution of sector-specific issues.

Both sides noted the accession of Indian Government to the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty. Furthermore, both sides agreed to work together to promote innovation, creativity and technological advancement.

They also noted the government-to-government Working Group meeting held in February 2019 to advance the agenda of the Travel and Tourism Working Group, including engagement with private sector travel and tourism stakeholders on the topic of increasing travel and tourism between the two countries.

Both sides expressed satisfaction at the conduct of the Commercial Dialogue and look forward to holding the next round of the Commercial Dialogue in the US at a mutually convenient time. fiinews.com