CUTS International Washington DC Center
Monthly Brief #70, January 2024
Promote Bilateralism, Together Foster Multilateralism
 
The outcomes of the 14th India-U.S. Trade Policy Forum (TPF) tick the right boxes for bilateral trade cooperation, but could have done more to foster trade multilateralism. While the TPF remains the apex platform for India and the U.S. to discuss bilateral trade concerns, they should also use every available opportunity to amplify the need to support trade multilateralism.
 
Since last year’s TPF, the two sides have settled seven longstanding trade disputes at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) through mutually agreed solutions. This is a significant achievement, putting 12 year old trade disputes to rest. 
 
Notably, it is the multilateral WTO dispute settlement system which itself encourages disputing parties to resolve their disputes “out of court” and arrive at agreeable solutions. This highlights the centrality of multilateral norms even in facilitating bilateral outcomes. However, the need for an active dispute settlement system to allow all parties to settle their disputes has been held hostage by the U.S. to the appointment of appellate body members.
 
The latest round of the TPF also saw India and the U.S. agree to enhance discussions on ongoing bilateral trade issues in the areas of technical regulations, IPR, agriculture, services and trade facilitation. These are welcome and can enhance bilateral market access in the long run. Early discussions on transparency in bilateral government procurement and restoration of India’s status as a beneficiary of the U.S. GSP programme are also encouraging.
 
However, references to working together to rejuvenate trade multilateralism and taking concrete steps towards reform of the WTO were conspicuous by their absence in the TPF Joint Statement. This does not augur well for the multilateral trading system, coming just weeks before the 13th WTO Ministerial Conferencein Abu Dhabi on 26-29 February..
 
Last year, the 13th TPF Joint Statement had a reference to “building trust in the multilateral trading system.” A similar reference to a shared commitment to multilateralism at this year’s TPF would have been highly desirable. The bilateral TPF can be a fertile ground to find breakthroughs on some of the difficult trade-related issues that arise in the multilateral trade arena. There is great potential for closer bilateral cooperation on trade and growing India-U.S. strategic convergence to generate positive spillovers for trade multilateralism. We must not let any opportunity pass by.
      

Pradeep S. Mehta
Editor

P.S.: India will be hosting the first ever Quad summit this year, moreover the Quad has emerged as a force for 'global good'. In this regard, what could be the immediate priorities and initiatives that will complement this region’s development?
 
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India-U.S. trade to top US$200bn
With India-U.S. trade set to cross US$200 billion in 2023, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on January 12, 2023 sought to ensure that technical regulations do not impact shipments and vowed to work together on critical minerals, pharma and medical devices.

A joint statement issued after a meeting of the Trade Policy Forum said the two ministers noted that the movement of professionals and skilled workers, students, investors, and business visitors between the countries contributes immensely to enhancing the bilateral economic and technological partnership.

India to press for social security pact at Trade Policy Forum meet with U.S.
India will push hard for a social security agreement to protect the interests of cross-border workers and greater market access for fruits like mangoes in America during the Trade Policy Forum (TPF) meeting.

The 14th India-U.S. TPF (Paywall) will be co-chaired by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai, who is travelling to the national capital for the ministerial. The forum aims to strengthen and expand the bilateral economic and trade ties between the two nations. The ministerial is crucial, considering the U.S. is India's largest trade and export partner.
 
Opportunities for India-Australia economic and trade cooperation limitless
There are unlimited opportunities for India-Australia economic cooperation (Paywall) in today’s challenging geostrategic and geoeconomic context, provided both sides adopt a flexible and pragmatic approach.

This was the broad sense of a high-level panel discussion titled, “Australia and India: Trade Strategies in an Era of Great Power Competition”, held at the Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, Canberra.

The panel discussion was the first in a series of events being organised in different cities of Australia over the next few days to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of CUTS International, a global public policy think tank.

WTO head 'less optimistic' for world trade due to Red Sea strikes
The World Trade Organisation's chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on January 17, 2023 said she was "less optimistic" about world trade in 2024, pointing to tensions in the Red Sea.

The head of the international trade body said weaker global economic growth, "worsening geopolitical tensions, the new disruptions we see in the Red Sea, on the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal" meant "we are less optimistic".

 

Macron in India: New ties for renewables
It is imperative that energy cooperation is a key point of agenda during the visit of French President Emanuel Macron, who has been invited at the chief guest of the State for the 75th Republic Day celebrations. India and Australia are large energy importers and have a shared interest in stable energy prices and decarbonisation.

France is a leader in nuclear power and a pioneer in green hydrogen, technologies that India needs. India offers a large and growing market which can help bring down the cost of these technologies and mainstream them. Both have past and ongoing commercial collaborations in petroleum and renewable energy.

Clean sources of generation are set to cover all of the world’s additional electricity demand over the next three years
Global electricity demand is expected to grow at a faster rate over the next three years as the clean energy transition gathers speed, with all the additional demand forecast to be covered by technologies that produce low-emissions electricity.

According to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). Electricity 2024 is the latest edition of the IEA’s annual analysis of electricity market developments and policies, providing forecasts for demand, supply and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the sector through 2026.
 
India poised to lead in global green energy demand
Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, at the CII-Bain session on 'Green Hydrogen Opportunity in India' at Davos 2024, emphasised India’s crucial role in the global green energy sector. He pointed out that "in the next 20 years, 25 percent of the increase in global demand is going to come from India," underlining the country’s cost advantage in producing green energy and electrolysers.

The session, which was a part of the high-profile Davos 2024 event, brought together key industry leaders, including Sumant Sinha, Founder, Chairman and CEO, ReNew, Jörgen Sandström, Head, Transforming Industrial Ecosystems, World Economic Forum, and Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, Chairman, Indian Oil Corporation.

India to sign energy MoU with Guyana
India approved signing a 5-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Guyana to cooperate in the hydrocarbon sector as the South Asian nation looks to diversify its oil import sources.

The proposed agreement will cover areas such as sourcing of crude oil from the South American nation, participation of Indian companies in its exploration and production sector and cooperation in crude oil refining, a government statement said.

 

U.S. military, ENC to hold ‘Tiger Triumph’ in Vizag
The U.S. military in association with the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy will jointly conduct an naval exercise ‘Tiger Triumph’ in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam in March.

During the exercise, naval personnel will be trained in carrying out rescue and relief operations and humanitarian exercises in times of need like during earthquakes, tsunamis and floods.

2023 marked by important milestones in U.S.-India strategic partnership
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that the U.S. was looking forward to further deepening the vibrant people-to-people ties and advancing the ambitious agenda for cooperation between the two nations.

The top American diplomat noted that 2023 was marked by important milestones in the comprehensive global and strategic partnership between the two nations. He said the Constitution of India continues to provide an enduring framework for the world’s largest democracy and a foundation for its global leadership.

India-U.S. collaboration within the QUAD framework enhances security, says General Atomics's Vivek Lall
The collaboration between India and the U.S. within the QUAD framework enhances security and strengthens the ability to respond to emerging geopolitical threats and promotes a rules-based international order, according to a top Indian-American executive in the American defence industry.

Vivek Lall, Chief Executive, General Atomics Global Corporation, also said as his company is building its support network within India, it is also reaching out to the Indian high-tech sector.

India, France to strengthen defence ties
India and France finalised their defence industrial roadmap and a slew of other strategically important agreements on January 26, 2024 during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to New Delhi.

The new roadmap is expected to help the Indian and French defence sectors to partner in projects requiring joint designing and production, said foreign secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra at a press conference.

 

UN Chief Antonio Guterres calls for urgent action on climate change, AI
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged leaders to tackle the existential threats posed by climate change, the unchecked development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and international governance reforms.

"Despite climate change and AI garnering significant attention, we have no effective global strategy to deal with either, geopolitical divides are preventing us from coming together around global solutions" he said.

U.S. needs to work with partners like India on regulation of AI
India has the building blocks to succeed in the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), such as talent and robust academic institutions, though it needs to do better in hardware and work with partners such as the U.S. on regulatory frameworks, a senior expert from a U.S. nonprofit focused on technology said.

Ylli Bajraktari, CEO of the Special Competitive Studies Project and a former executive director of the U.S. National Security Commission on AI, emphasised the need for the U.S. and its partners “not to get 5Ged” by China’s actions in the realm of AI.

The Tech that needs fixing in 2024, and What got fixed last year
Tech companies (Paywall) would like us to believe that their products tell a story about progress. Faster phones! Better cameras! Brighter screens! Yet despite all the improvements, there are pieces of tech that have been flawed for years.

Text messaging technology, which created what many call the “green vs. blue bubble” disparity, has made texting between Apple and Android phones a subpar experience for nearly as long as smartphones have existed.

India, U.S. working on tech to process critical minerals
With China looming ever larger as a potent cyber threat, American, Indian and Taiwanese cyber security officials have met to find ways of deepening their operational expertise and sharing best practices on cybersecurity issues.

The meeting took place on December 11, and December 12 during a joint workshop convened under the Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF).

This was the first in-person GCTF programme held in India. Co-hosting the event were the U.S. Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti, Taiwan’s Representative to India, Baushuan Ger, India’s former National Cyber Security Coordinator, Lieutenant General Rajesh Pant, and the Indian government-sponsored think tank, United Service Institution of India (USI).

 

Budget 2024: Pharma and Health Sectors' Expectations in Interim Budget
As the eagerly awaited day of February 1 approaches, when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveils Budget 2024, the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors are outlining their expectations.

Their demands encompass innovations in healthcare and pharmaceuticals, reforms in health insurance, enhancements to healthcare infrastructure in rural India, relaxation of import restrictions, and a heightened focus on research and development.

500 Drugs set to Witness a Price hike in the U.S. in Jan 2024
In a recent development, drugmakers such as Pfizer, Sanofi, as well as Takeda Pharmaceutical went on to plan to raise costs in the U.S. when it comes to more than 500 drugs in early January 2024, according to data analysed by healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors and as reported by Reuters.

Not including various doses and formulations, over 140 brands of drugs will have their prices increased in January 2024, according to what the data showed.

Fostering R&D and innovation in pharma and medtech sector
In the evolving tapestry of India’s growth, few threads are as crucial as the pharmaceuticals and medical technology sector. These industries are not just economic pillars; they are also critical enablers of our nation’s health and well-being.

As we navigate the post COVID complexities of the 21st century, it is imperative that we catalyse innovation in this sector, not just for realising the goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat, but also to meet the rising demand for conventional and novel medical products worldwide.

Pharma, restoration of duty reliefs to top India-U.S. trade forum agenda
After bilaterally resolving many major trade disputes that had reached the dispute settlement body at the World Trade Organisation, trade ministers of India and U.S. discuss other pending issues.

Fast-tracking of the process of inspection and audit of Indian pharma companies by U.S. Food and Drug Administration, export controls on high-tech products and ban on import of Indian shrimps by the U.S. are among the issues to be discussed.

 

CUTS International Leaders Honoured with Membership in T20 Brasil's International Advisory Council
Pradeep Mehta, the Secretary General of Jaipur-based CUTS International, has achieved a notable distinction by being appointed as a member of the International Advisory Council of T20 Brasil. Additionally, Mr. Mehta has also been nominated in B20 Brasil.

Furthermore, Bipul Chattopadhyay, Executive Director of CUTS International, has been appointed as a co-chair of a sub-topic in Task Force 4 of T20 Brasil, focusing on Trade and Investment for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth.

India stands tall as a marker of peace stability innovation and prosperity Amb Sandhu
India today stands tall as a marker of peace, stability, innovation, and prosperity, the country's top diplomat in the U.S. Taranjit Singh Sandhu said on the occasion of the country's 75th Republic Day.

A large number of the Indian-American community leaders along with embassy officials attended the unfurling of the national flag and Republic Day celebrations at the Indian Embassy in downtown Washington DC.

What we really know about the global economy
What is going to happen to the world economy? (Paywall). We will never know the answer to this question. In one decade after another, something big and largely unexpected has occurred: the great inflation and oil shocks in the 1970s, the disinflation of the early 1980s, the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of China in the 1990s, the financial crises in the high-income economies in the 2000s and the pandemic, post-pandemic inflation and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East in the 2020s.

India emerges as 5th largest source of tourists for U.S.
A growing, affluent middle class and younger, intrepid Indians travelling to the U.S. have made India the fifth largest source for tourism to the U.S., projected to grow at 30 percent in 2024, Brand U.S.’s chief marketing officer Staci Mellman told Times of India in an exclusive interview.

Mellman said Indian tourists spend significantly more on average than other international travellers to the U.S., accounting for a significant share of the US$173.9 billion that international tourists spent on travel and tourism-related goods and services while travelling to the U.S.