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Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the US has huge investment surpluses which can be used in India for promoting infrastructure investments and also to make India a manufacturing base to help American economy grow and provide goods and services at affordable and competitive prices. He also said that going forward, it is in the interest of both countries to strengthen their strategic partnership into a more comprehensive economic and trade partnership also.

Goyal said India has several goods and services to offer to the US which are needed by consumers there. Apart from pharmaceutical products, he said India can provide trained paramedical staff, IT professionals, textiles, leather, gems and jewellery as these sectors hold tremendous potential in America. He also stated that India is looking at a national infrastructure pipeline, which will provide huge opportunities of over $1.4 trillion to boost investments in the infrastructure sector for which the government here has provided an enabling environment.

The minister said ‘we have more liberal FDI rules, we have reduced corporate tax, we have a simplified tax regime, a single-window clearance mechanism for all approvals, huge land bank to set up manufacturing bases or industrial clusters, we have removed and sorted out legacy issues of the past like the retrospective income tax law.’ He said India is recognised as a major defence partner of the US and can also become a big market for American companies in other sectors. Talking about areas for increasing cooperation, he said that sectors like electronics, pharma and healthcare, space and biotechnology hold tremendous potential.