Visa, agri, GSP likely to figure in India-US trade policy forum meet in Jan
GSP) are expected to figure in the meeting of India-US Trade Policy Forum (TPF) in January here, an official said. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai will be here for a meeting with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.
«Both sides will discuss ways to increase trade and investments between the two countries during the two-day meeting from January 13, 2024.
It will be the 14th ministerial-level meeting of the India-US TPF,» the official said.
The last meeting was held in Washington in January 2023. India in that meeting highlighted the delay in the issuance of business visas to people from India.
New Delhi is also keen on restoration of its beneficiary status under the US GSP programme.
The previous Trump administration in the US revoked the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) from India in 2019. The GSP allows eligible developing countries to export duty-free goods to the US.
About 1,900 Indian products from sectors such as chemicals and engineering were getting duty-free access to the US market under the GSP, introduced in 1976.
Both the countries in the last TPF meet had noted that the movement of professionals and skilled workers and business travellers between the countries contributes to enhancing bilateral economic and technological partnership, the official added.
The official said that the proposed social security totalisation agreement may also figure in the meeting.
Under a totalisation agreement, an expatriate in either country need not contribute to the social security schemes of the host country. It would benefit a number of Indians, particularly from the IT sector who are working in America and paying social security but are unable to get any benefit out of it.
In the 13th TPF
