Biden administration should sign a trade deal with India, says top Republican Senetor

A leading Republican lawmaker applauded India's completion of a trade agreement with Australia and asked the Biden administration to do the same with New Delhi so that Washington's strong economic agenda in the strategically important Indo-Pacific region may be advanced.

In a tweet, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jim Risch stated, "I'm glad to see #Australia and #India signed a strong trade accord."

In another tweet, Risch stated that the Biden Administration's failure to lead undermines US prosperity and our regional alliance.In the #IndoPacific, the US must follow suit and advance a strong economic agenda

It may be mentioned that India and Australia signed an Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement on April 2.

In the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison, the agreement was virtually signed by Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan and his Indian counterpart Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal.

Under the agreement, Australia will grant India zero duty access to about 96.4 percent of its exports (by value). This includes a wide range of products that are currently subject to a 4% to 5% customs charge in Australia.

In February of this year, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal stated that India and the United States are in talks to explore methods to strengthen economic ties beyond a free trade deal by enabling better market access and increased investment engagement.

The two countries are now negotiating a trade agreement to resolve some issues and enhance two-way trade.

Moreover, the United States exported about USD 1.6 billion worth of agricultural products to India in 2021. In 2020-21, overall bilateral trade was USD 80.5 billion, down from USD 88.9 billion in 2019-20.

In 2020-21, India's exports to the United States were USD 51.62 billion, down from USD 53 billion in 2019-20.

According to statistics from the commerce ministry, India's imports from the United States totaled USD 28.9 billion in 2020-21, down from USD 35.9 billion in 2019-20.