WASHINGTON DC– U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab will lead a high-level delegation to New Delhi on April 12-15 for strategic trade talks and bilateral discussions with senior Indian officials. Ambassador Schwab will Co-Chair the fourth Ministerial-level meeting of the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum with India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath.
The United States and India maintain one of the world’s fastest growing major bilateral trade relationships and are committed to a goal of doubling bilateral trade to approximately US$ 60 billion by 2008.
"Since President Bush’s historic trip to India last March, we have made important progress in our bilateral relationship," said Ambassador Schwab. "The U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum is a critical instrument to foster bilateral trade and investment opportunities."
At the Trade Policy Forum, Ambassador Schwab will discuss initiatives to strengthen bilateral trade ties and achieve progress in the areas of agricultural trade, investment, trade in services, reduction of tariff and non-tariff barriers, and boosting innovation and creativity. The U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum was launched during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to Washington, DC, in July 2005. The previous Ministerial-level Trade Policy Forum meeting was held in June 2006 in Washington, DC.
While in India, Ambassador Schwab will hold in-depth discussions in New Delhi with senior Indian officials on the World Trade Organization Doha Development Agenda. She will also attend brief gatherings of the G-4 and G-6 trade ministers to do a stocktaking of progress in the Doha Round.
This will be Ambassador Schwab’s first trip to India since her confirmation by the U.S. Senate in June 2006. Ambassador Schwab’s delegation to India will include Deputy U.S. Trade Representatives Ambassador Karan Bhatia and Ambassador Peter Allgeier, Chief Agricultural Negotiator Ambassador Richard Crowder, and Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for South and Southwest Asia Ambassador Douglas A. Hartwick.
