With a shared objective of deepening and broadening trade, India and the United States have established a new group to enhance the supply chain.

In a joint statement on Thursday, India’s and the United States governments stated that they have established a new working group to create sustainable supply chains and enhance bilateral trade.

The statement issued after a trade policy forum meeting in Washington, D.C., mentioned that the working group will primarily focus on trade facilitation, the digitization of customs procedures, challenges related to sustainable finance, and the scaling up of innovative clean technologies.

During a meeting co-chaired by India's trade minister, Piyush Goyal, and the U.S. Trade Representative, Katherine Tai, the nations also decided to continue closely monitoring visa concerns and intensify communication on food and agricultural trade issues in 2023. Furthermore, the United States will consider India’s interest in the restoration of beneficiary status under the US generalized preferences program system. The United States welcomed India’s commitment to providing public notice and comment periods as it considers new quality control orders and ensures that the measures will not be more trade restrictive than necessary, aligning with the WTO TBT agreement.

In addition, the ministers acknowledged the positive impact of trade margin rationalization (TMR) on patient access to affordable medical devices during the pandemic. They agreed to continue to exchange views on pricing issues for cardiac stents and knee implants that would enable patients to access advanced medical technology at affordable prices.

The trade policy forum, revived in 2021 after a break of four years, will reconvene on a ministerial level before the end of 2023. The two countries highlighted their commitment to continuing to work together on resolving outstanding trade issues.

Atul Keshap, the president of the US Chamber of Commerce’s US-India Business Council, reiterated that waiting for all-or-nothing comprehensive agreements will slow the nations' shared goal of achieving a 500 billion USD trade relationship. The two countries are focusing on larger bilateral footprints for trade and investment than mini deals, with an emphasis on greater market access and ease of doing business. He added that US businesses are looking to invest more in India. US companies have ambitious plans and are seeking to invest large amounts of capital and bring technology to India.