JOIN USUS exports to India increased by about $1 billion to over $22 billion, while India's exports to the US grew by about $4 billion to over $41 billion over the past year, said Jennifer A Mclntyre, Consul-General with the US Consulate in Chennai on Tuesday.
“Our bilateral trade in goods expanded from around $26 billion to over $63 billion in the last seven years. And, when we count bilateral trade in services, our bilateral relationship is nearing the $100 billion mark. In recent years, India has been among the fastest growing sources of foreign direct investment (FDI) into the US, exceeding $28 billion in 2012, supporting thousands of US jobs,” she said.
Mclntyre was delivering the keynote address at an interactive session in Bangalore on 'Doing Business with USA' organized by the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) in association with US Commercial Service, Bangalore.
Today, the US Consulate in Chennai is the word's 13th largest adjudicating post for non-immigration visas, and number one for processing profession worker (H and L categories) visas.
In 2012-13, the consular team in Chennai adjudicated over 23 lakh visas, of which half were for professional work and business travel to the United States.
Of the over 7 lakh Indian visitors who travelled to the United States in 2012, 20 per cent were business travellers, Mclntyre said.
A decrease in the energy costs supported by the ongoing boom in the shale oil sector in the US, unfettered access to nearby markets like South America, an efficient labour force and other factors will support Indian industries in US, said John M McCaslin, Minister Counsellor for Commercial Affairs and Senior Commercial Officer at the US embassy in New Delhi, in his special address on 'Select US'.
“In order to promote bilateral industrial relations between the two countries we are planing roadshows in Bangalore and Mumbai,” McCaslin said.
Bilateral trade between India and the US is growing, though its growth is below the ideal level, BCIC President M V Harish said in his welcome address at the event.
DH News Service