US and India establish sustainable trade group News
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US and India establish sustainable trade group

The US and India Thursday announced a new Trade Policy Forum (TPF) working group on resilient trade, which will aim to develop and strengthen a sustainable trade relationship between the two countries. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai co-chaired the meeting along with Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal. The group will also work on the following:

  • Deepening trade facilitation with respect to durable and sustainable supply chains;
  • Cooperative engagement to promote labor rights and workforce development;
  • Expansion of dialogue on good regulatory practices; and
  • Mobilization of sustainable finance and scaling up of innovative clean technologies

The representatives discussed several other aspects of cooperation. They welcomed the finalization of Turtle Excluder Device (TED) which will minimize the adverse impact of fishing on sea-turtle population, and the US expressed appreciation for India’s efforts to reduce environmental compliance burden in key business areas. Moreover, India underlined its interest in restoration of its beneficiary status under US Generalized System of Preferences.

The countries established the TPF in March 2010 as part of the shared vision of US-India Strategic Dialogue. The forum was revived in 2021 after a gap of four years.