The US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, called for lowering tariffs between India and the US to boost trade between.
The two nations to enhance trade and ensure a fairer, more balanced partnership between the two nations. His remarks came days after US President-elect Donald Trump vowed to impose reciprocal tariffs on India if the country continues to levy high taxes on American goods.
“We need, together, to lower tariffs, not to see them go up. We need, together, to increase trade and to make it more fair and equal,” Garcetti said, while addressing an event organised on Thursday by the US-India Business Council (USIBC).
The US Ambassador called for collaborative efforts between New Delhi and Washington on multiple aspects of international trade, including training and talent sharing, news agency ANI reported.
“We need to, together, make sure that there’s training and talent that meets the needs of companies on both sides of the Indo-Pacific,” Garcetti said.
Last week, signalling a more confrontational trade stance towards India, Trump said that his administration would adopt a tit-for-tat approach, saying, “If they tax us, we tax them the same amount”.
“The word reciprocal is important because if somebody charges us – India, we don’t have to talk about our own – if India charges us 100 per cent, do we charge them nothing for the same? You know, they send in a bicycle, and we send them a bicycle. They charge us 100 and 200. India charges a lot,” he said.
The Republican leader added, “India charges a lot. Brazil charges a lot. If they want to charge us, that’s fine, but we’re going to charge them the same thing”.
According to Trump, such an approach would ensure fairness in trade, which, according to him, is key to his economic agenda.
New Delhi has not commented on the developments so far.
‘INDIAN INVESTMENTS DRIVE US GROWTH’
Ambassador Garcetti further highlighted that Indian companies as well as the workforce contribute significantly to the US economy. He pointed out that Indian companies secured USD 3.4 billion in deals and investments in the US in the past year alone at the SelectUSA Investment Summit, a direct investment programme by the US government.
He stressed that India’s role is growing in the US economy.
“In fact, this year the Indian delegation was the most from any country in history. They also had the most dollars of deals and investments in America: USD 3.4 billion last year as a result. Just at Select USA. And that doesn’t capture all the Indian investments,” he said.
Gracetti added, “These are investments in everything from steel in Texas, electrolyzers in North Carolina, steel plants that were closed down in Ohio and mines in Minnesota, services and biotech in New Jersey and, of course, in California, my home state. Investments in everything from agriculture and food products to high-tech innovations in AI and quantum”.
He also commended the role of the Indian workforce in the US economy, calling it the “most extraordinary resource that humanity has on its planet”.
“And to realise these ambitions, we must recommit ourselves to a mutual path of trust and transparency so that people know what to expect. India’s workforce, which numbers more than a billion people, is one of the most extraordinary resources that humanity has on its planet. They are builders, thinkers, innovators and entrepreneurs,” the Ambassador said.
He also highlighted the potential for the US and India to collaborate by combining American strengths in science, finance, and business with India’s ingenuity, talent, and ability to scale solutions.