Matribhumi Samachar English
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal convened the 6th ministerial level meeting of the U.S.-India Commercial Dialogue (Commercial Dialogue) in Washington, D.C. on October 3, 2024. The Secretary and the Minister took stock of the following achievements since the 5th ministerial meeting took place in March 2023 in New Delhi, India:
- Semiconductor Memorandum of Understanding (MOU): The Secretary and the Minister praised the two sides’ continuing efforts to facilitate resilient, secure, and sustainable semiconductor supply chains. Since the signing of the MOU Establishing Semiconductor Supply Chain and Innovation Partnership under the Framework of the U.S.-India Commercial Dialogue, the U.S. Semiconductor Industry Association and the India Electronics Semiconductor Association have completed their private sector “readiness assessment,” launched under the U.S.-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology to identify near-term industry opportunities and facilitate longer-term strategic development of complementary semiconductor ecosystems. The Secretary and the Minister pledged to continue working under the MOU to facilitate collaboration between U.S. and Indian companies towards mutually beneficial business opportunities, such as investments, joint ventures, and technology partnerships; and to promote talent and workforce development to benefit both countries.
- Innovation Handshake MOU: The Secretary and the Minister welcomed the success of the two roundtables convened in November 2023 in San Francisco and March 2024 in New Delhi, bringing the two countries’ startup ecosystems closer together and carrying forward their ambitions under the MOU to Enhance Innovation Ecosystems through an Innovation Handshake under the Framework of the U.S.-India Commercial Dialogue.
- U.S.-India Energy Industry Network (EIN): The Secretary and the Minister praised the work done on the EIN Roundtable organized during the Clean EDGE and Environmental Technologies Business Development Mission in March 2024 in New Delhi. The trade mission brought 12 U.S. companies to India to help grow sustainable and secure clean energy markets and accelerate the adoption of environmental solutions in India. Views exchanged during the EIN Roundtable helped to inform the U.S.-India Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP) Ministerial convened by the U.S. Secretary of Energy and the Indian Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas on September 16, 2024, in Washington.
- Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF): The Secretary and the Minister also commended the significant progress announced at the recent virtual IPEF ministerial meeting in September, including the work being done to improve supply chain resilience under the IPEF Supply Chain Agreement for the IPEF partners. They highlighted their commitment to collaborate initially in the critical areas of semiconductors, chemicals, critical minerals with a focus on batteries, and potentially healthcare products, as agreed to by the IPEF Supply Chain Council.
The Secretary and the Minister also reviewed other joint efforts that have been made, including under the India-U.S. Strategic Trade Dialogue and the Standards and Conformance Cooperation Program (SCCP). Looking ahead, they discussed the following priorities for future collaboration:
- Critical Minerals MOU: The Secretary and the Minister reaffirmed that supply chain resilience remains a shared policy priority for the bilateral commercial relationship. On October 3, 2024, they signed a new MOU to Expand and Diversify Critical Minerals Supply Chains, with the aim of leveraging the two countries’ complementary strengths to ensure greater resilience in the critical minerals sector. Priority areas of focus include identifying equipment, services, policies, and best practices to facilitate the mutually beneficial commercial development of U.S. and Indian critical minerals exploration, extraction, processing and refining, recycling, and recovery.
- INDUS Innovation: The Secretary and the Minister launched a new effort under the Innovation Handshake agenda to accelerate innovation specifically in energy security, technology, and sustainability. To leverage the complementary strengths of the United States and India, as the #1 and #3 largest startup ecosystems in the world, the U.S. Department of Commerce and Indian Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, intend to invite startup companies, investors, and technology thought leaders to come together in 2025 in search of breakthrough solutions to advance “INDUS Innovation for Energy Security, Technology and Sustainability.” Targeted problem sets and other details will be announced in the coming months.
- Supporting Women-Owned and Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs): The Secretary and the Minister looked forward to the U.S. Department of Commerce-led Global Diversity Export Initiative Trade Mission to India in early March 2025, with a focus on expanding opportunities in the Indian market for U.S. SMEs that are owned, operated, or led by members of underserved communities. The trade mission will commence in Bengaluru with an “Export Markets Providing Opportunities for Women’s Economic Rise (EMPOWER) Asia Business Conference” seeking to provide networking, mentorship, and digital skilling resources geared towards U.S. and Indian business leaders so that they can thrive in increasingly competitive and digitized markets.
- Expanding Startup and SME Resources in Bengaluru: The Secretary and the Minister applauded plans to expand the U.S. Department of Commerce’s presence in India to a total of about 70 Foreign Commercial Service staff across seven cities. In Bengaluru, where the State Department is planning to open a new U.S. consulate, a new position will be created to serve as a one-stop resource for U.S. and Indian startups and SMEs and to help advance the two sides’ plans for an SME Presidents Forum to explore greater SME engagement, sharing of best practices, peer learning, support for women entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses, green technology, access to digital market platforms, and integration into global value chains.
- Travel and Tourism: The Secretary and the Minister applauded the work plan established by the Travel and Tourism Working Group under the Commercial Dialogue as a significant step towards strengthening collaboration between India and the United States in the travel and tourism sector. Through a series of joint activities such as working group meetings, business matchmaking events, data exchanges, and outreach programs, both countries intend to work closely to boost two-way travel and improve industry coordination, thereby contributing to economic growth and job creation while deepening the overall U.S.-India relationship.
- Healthcare: The Secretary and the Minister acknowledged the need for and expressed a shared interest in greater information exchange about their respective government’s actions to address supply chain networks that underpin domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities, with a view towards strengthening the current state of the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) industrial base, production capacities, and emergency response capabilities.
The Secretary and Minister underscored the importance of the Commercial Dialogue in sustaining momentum on shared economic priorities. They expressed a shared interest in exploring collaboration, based on mutual trust and confidence, in new and emerging areas of technology and trade, in addition to continuing ongoing work in other sectors under the framework of the Commercial Dialogue, to improve supply chain resilience and boost economic prosperity in both countries. Towards that end, they confirmed their intention to convene in 2025 a mid-year review led by senior government officials from both sides. The mid-year review will allow each side to carry forward the above priorities identified under the Commercial Dialogue, implementing a roadmap based on the Secretary’s and the Minister’s economic vision and ensuring robust private sector engagement to inform ongoing efforts.
Finally, the Secretary and the Minister welcomed the reconvening of the U.S.-India CEO Forum on October 2, 2024, in Washington, D.C. Both sides noted with appreciation the valued contributions of the U.S. and Indian Section CEOs and their joint recommendations to the two governments, covering a wide range of topics. These recommendations serve to guide policy decisions that strengthen bilateral commercial and trade ties, drive economic growth and innovation, and foster a resilient bilateral partnership.
