Bilateral trade between India and the US is poised to cross the $100-billion mark soon, US Consul General to South India Jennifer McIntyre said on Thursday. India is the 13th largest trading partner for the US. Bilateral trade between the two countries stood at about $60 billion in 2011-12.
She said at an event organised by United States Commercial Services and Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) that to provide information to businessmen in Tier II and III cities who want to do business with the US, her government is leveraging the concept of American Business Corners (ABCs) that work with local business chambers of commerce across India.
India was the third fastest growing source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the US between 2006-11 and was valued at about $9.8 billion in 2011, placing it as the 24th largest source of FDI in the US.
However, what has irked some FKCCI members is the inordinate delay in processing visa applications by US embassy authorities in India, apart from frequent rejection of visa applications.
Later in the day, delivering the keynote address at a meeting on tourism promotion to the US organised by the US Commercial Services in association with Travel Agents Federation of India's (TAFI) Karnataka chapter, US Deputy Assistant Secretary Alyssa Ayres emphasised the Obama administration's efforts to increase the numbers of foreign tourists to the US.
