India-US Trade Policy Forum (TPF)
Source: PIB
GS II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests; GS III: Economy
Overview
- News in Brief
- Status of India-US Bilateral trade
- 14th India – USA TPF discussions highlight
- About Turtle Excluder Device (TED)
Why in the News?
The 14th Ministerial-level meeting of the India- United States Trade Policy Forum (TPF) was held in New Delhi.
News in Brief
- Minister of Commerce and Industry and U.S. Trade Representative co-chaired the TPF meeting.
- CIM also held a small group meeting with USTR.
- Effective implementation of the TPF plays a pivotal part in securing vulnerable situations in bilateral trade and in elevating the overall economic partnership between the nations.
Status of India-US Bilateral trade
- India-US bilateral trade in goods and services which continued to rise and has likely surpassed $200 billion in calendar year 2023.
- Bilateral goods and services trade between the US and India has almost doubled since 2014 benefitting both countries.
- India would remove additional duties on eight US products, including chickpeas, lentils and apples, which were imposed in 2019
- And in response to America’s measure to increase tariffs on certain steel and aluminium products.
14th India – USA TPF discussions Higlights
- Future Joint Initiatives: Committed for future Joint Initiatives in certain areas, including critical minerals, customs and trade facilitation, supply chains, and trade in high-tech products.
- Joint Facilitative Mechanism (JFM): To mitigate non-tariff barriers which would pursue mutual recognition of results from International Laboratories and establish mutual recognition arrangements (MRAs) on a bilateral basis whenever possible.
- Social Security Totalization Agreement: Social Security/ Totalisation Agreement is one of the key asks from the Indian side in the TPF which will significantly contribute towards enhancing services trade between countries and help Indian IT professionals who temporarily work in the US.
- Turtle Excluder Device (TED):
- Welcomed the finalization of the Turtle Excluder Device (TED) design developed with the technical support of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
- TED is an effective device in minimizing the impact of fishing on the sea turtle population and would foster enhanced seafood trade between the two countries.
- TAA Compliant country:
- To be TAA compliant, a product or service must be made or substantially transformed in the U.S. or a designated country.
- India’s designation as a TAA Compliant country for which a formal discussion was initiated 2023.
- TAA would contribute towards supply chain integration for India and the USA.
- Drug Inspection backlog
- USFDA had stopped conducting inspections and audits in India for a long period, and resumed later, which resulted in huge backlog of pharmaceuticals.
- Pharma exports to the US are growing at the rate of 6.7% in the last 5 years.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is a Washington, D.C.–based scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce, a United States federal government department.
About Turtle Excluder Device (TED)
- When a sea turtle gets stuck in a fisherman’s net, a specialized equipment called a “turtle excluder device” lets it escape.
- For instance, when the commercial shrimp fishing industry uses bottom trawling, sea turtles can be captured.
- They need a finely meshed trawl net to collect shrimp.
- While shrimp pass between the bars to the back of the net, turtles and other larger animals bump against the metal grid and escape through a flap in the mesh.
- Current TED designs have been determined to be 97 percent effective.
All sea turtles found in U.S. waters are listed under the Endangered Species Act as either threatened or endangered.
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