Houston, United States, Sep 22 Notwithstanding the hype about ‘Howdy Modi’ rally at NRG Stadium, the Narendra Modi-Donald Trump bear hug, shake hands and walking hand-in-hand on Sunday could finally end up doing deal about grapes, cardiac stents, pork and almonds.
Apparently much progress has been made in the trade talks between two sides and a big ticket announcement is possibly on the cards.
In the meantime, speculation is rife which among the two – Mr Modi or Mr Mr Trump would bargain hard and give in the maximum to the other side.
The US is eyeing a pact on ethanol among other facets of commercial parleys as well.
The Modi government and Union Commerce Ministry want market access for grapes and some other farm products to export to the United States and in return may give in with lower tariffs on high-end American electronic products.
India has been the largest beneficiary of the US government’s special concession regime GSP, which was enforce since 1970s but the Trump administration earlier this year ended duty-free access for about USD 5.7 billion worth of Indian exports. These included chemicals, plastics, leather and rubber goods, and auto parts. India also responded with higher retaliatory tariffs on 28 US products, including almonds, apples and walnuts.
India is the second largest importer of US apples and the top buyer of US almonds, paying USD 543 million for more than half of US almond exports in 2018.
The talks are thus focused on US keenness for reduction in agricultural tariffs by India including those for almonds, pork, dairy products, cherries and apples.
The US team led by Trade Representative Robert also wants the Modi government to remove high pricing barriers on imported medical devices including cardiac stents.
"...The trade problems are normal with people you are closest to since most trade happens with them," External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has said in Delhi this week.
Giving broad hints that the trade disputes between New Delhi and Washington could be handled, Dr S Jaishankar has told reporters that - "only way not to have trade dispute is not to have trade at all".
Dr Jaishankar also said that "sharper edges" in trade relations between India and the US will be addressed in the "not too distant future".
For his part, President Trump wants better terms of trade from most of the top commercial partners of the United States including India.
Washington has thus also taken up with India’s the issue of new investment rules on e-commerce.
The restrictions are said to have harmed the interest of companies like Amazon.com Inc and Walmart-backed Flipkart which are more than keen to tap the rapidly growing online market set to touch USD 200 billion by next 7-8 years.
Thus as the two quintessential ‘masters of ceremonies’ will take stage, mandarins and experts would be keeping fingers crossed for an early trade pact that will ensure that a powerful market of a combined population of world's largest democracy and most powerful democracy will offer a win-win situation to both the countries.
“Prime Minister Modi will need to show something concrete when he returns to India after a week long tour which has already attracted bitter criticism from opposition Congress and the Left parties in the country,” says a BJP source.
Besides attending 'Howdy Modi' event together, Prime Minister will have a bilateral with President Trump on September 24 in New York.
The bilateral meet between Mr Trump and Mr Modi will be fourth such engagement between the two leaders in last four months.
How PM charms Kashmiri Pandit delegation with 'Namo Namah' remark ?
Houston, United States, Sep 22 Someone who takes pride and also excels in establishing intimate bond with his audience, Prime Minister Narendra Modi left his charm over Kashmiri Pandit delegation here on Sunday.
Prime Minister joined the group which met him here in reciting 'Namaste Sharade Devi' Shloka.
But as the Shloka ended with words 'Namah Namah' and praying for the betterment of humanity including people of Jammu and Kashmir; Prime Minister in his irresistible style added: "again Namo Namah" - throwing the entire group including women into peels of laughter.
The much impressed gathering could not help applauding Prime Minister's sense of wit with a big applause.
As Prime Minister's name is Narendra Modi, he is often given the acronym 'Namo' and the phrase 'Namo Namah' is used more often to lay emphasis either on his unique style of functioning or his much successful career graph.
One delegation leader S Kaul later said: "We thanked the Prime Minister on behalf of the 7 lakh Kashmiri Pandits all over the globe for such a historic decision".
During interaction, Prime Minister told them ".....you have suffered a lot together, now we have to build a new Kashmir".
Within hours of landing in the United States, Prime Minister met a delegation of Kasmiri Pandit community which ''unequivocally supported'' Government of India's decision to abrogate Article 370 and bifurcate the erstwhile development-starved and militancy-hit Jammu and Kashmir.
''In Houston, a delegation of the Kashmiri Pandit community met the Prime Minister. They unequivocally supported the steps being taken for the progress of India and empowerment of every Indian, said the PMO in its tweet.
This is Prime Minister's first visit to the US since August 5 when his government decided to abrogate Article 370 and bifurcate J&K into Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh regions.
Prime Minister Modi was also felicitated by delegations of Dawoodi Bohra community and the Sikh community here on the very first day of his seven-day trip to the US.
Energy sector honchos endorse Modi Govt's policy, want to enhance footprint in India
Houston, United States, Sep 22 The CEOs and industry captains of companies in the energy sector on Sunday hailed Modi government's efforts towards 'ease of doing business' and steps taken to deregulate the sector.
At the Round Table meet - the first official engagement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US at the week long tour - the CEOs talked about "enhancing their footprint in India".
"They lauded government efforts towards ease of doing business, steps taken towards deregulation in the sector, supported reforms and policies and were upbeat on the Indian economy," MEA spokesman Raveesh Kumar said.
He also said that the CEOs were thankful to the Government for the support and facilitation.
Mr Kumar said CEO of 17 global energy companies participated in the Roundtable. "Combined net worth of companies is USD 1 trillion with a presence in 150 countries," he said adding all companies have some engagement or presence in India.
The principal objective of the meeting was to "deepen our energy cooperation as part of our strategic energy partnership", he said.
On the sidelines, an MoU was inked between Tellurian, a Houston based energy major and Petronet LNG.
Petronet will invest USD 2.5 billion in Tellurian's proposed Driftwood LNG export terminal, in exchange for the rights to 5 million metric tonnes of LNG per year over 40 years, he said.
''It is impossible to come to Houston and not talk energy! Had a wonderful interaction with leading energy sector CEOs. We discussed methods to harness opportunities in the energy sector. Also witnessed the signing of MoU between Tellurian and Petronet LNG,'' said the Prime Minister in his tweet.
MEA spokesperson earlier said in a tweet - ''Getting straight to business. PM Narendra Modi just concluded a fruitful interaction with top energy sector CEOs at a Round Table meeting in Houston.''
The discussion focused on working together for energy security and expanding mutual investment opportunities between India and the US, he wrote.
"Further energising India-USA friendship. Among the first engagements of PM Narendra Modi
in Houston is a meeting with CEOs from the energy sector. India and USA are looking to diversify cooperation in this sector," the missive in the micro blogging site by PMO said earlier.
US Ambassador to India Ken Juster was also present. Mr Modi was accompanied by External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary VIjay Gokhale and Indian ambassador to the US Harsh Vardhan Shringla at the meeting.
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