Thaindian News

By Arun Kumar
Washington, March 2 (IANS) As it seeks to further strengthen its growing relationship with India, the United States says it intends this year to address key trade irritants and develop cooperative initiatives on issues related to innovation, services, agriculture, market access, and investment.

“Our plans also include work on a commercial space launch agreement and continued negotiation of a Bilateral Investment Treaty,” President Barack Obama’s Trade Policy Agenda for 2010 says.

“In 2009, the administration sought to strengthen frameworks for America’s growing relationship with India,” it said, noting US-India trade has doubled in the last five years.

“To accelerate this trend, the most recent ministerial meeting of the US-India Trade Policy Forum set out a significantly expanded work programme and refreshed its advisory groups,” it noted.

“In 2010, as part of the Trade Policy Forum, we intend to address key trade irritants and develop cooperative initiatives - especially on issues related to innovation, services, agriculture, market access, and investment,” the agenda said.

On the Doha Round of trade negotiations, the agenda asserted that the US is the most open major market in the world and said in terms of what is currently on the table “the value of what the United States would give in market opening, along with a reduction of US agriculture support, is well-known and easily calculable.”

“In contrast, the value of new opportunities for our businesses, workers, farmers, and ranchers remains vague because of the broad flexibilities available to key emerging markets, like China, India, and Brazil that are fast growing economies and important markets of the future,” it said.

India along with China and Brazil have come to enjoy a “new level of influence” in the WTO and would be expected to accept greater responsibilities in the global trade deal under Doha negotiations, the agenda said.

“As today’s fastest growing economies, China, Brazil and India have enjoyed a new level of influence (in the WTO) and each will be expected to take on an increased level of responsibility.”

“The recent emergence of China, Brazil, and India as recognized ‘majors’ within the World Trade Organisation (WTO) represented an important step forward, moving the overall negotiating dynamics to more closely reflect the dynamic economic reality of today’s trading system,” the trade agenda said.

Deepening engagement with major emerging markets is critical for American trade prospects, ii said noting, “We placed a particular emphasis on countries such as China, India, Brazil, and Russia in 2009; these and other large emerging markets will figure prominently in the future.”

As a region, the Asia-Pacific will weigh much more prominently in American trade and world economic activity in the future, and it will take multiple initiatives to maximize the opportunities for the region, the agenda said.