US official supports India’s domestic manufacturing push; will collaborate with India on semiconductor pitch

Arun Venkataraman, US Assistant Secretary of State, Global Markets, says the US is fully supportive of the government’s effort to create a strong vibrant domestic manufacturing sector in India.

Venkataraman identified India’s high stake semi-conductor quest as a key area of collaboration as Global Inc aims to mitigate the rampant chip shortage.

In an exclusive interview for TV9 Network’s ‘Leaders Of Global Bharat’ series, the Coimbatore-born business leader, during his visit to India last week said, “So as much as we have a history of potential that has been unfulfilled I’m actually quite confident that we are now at a moment where that trajectory is not just going up but the slope will be significantly different and will grow much more quickly.”

Venkataraman made light of the slow progress of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) pitch by India. “I want to emphasise that the vast majority of trade that happens between our two countries falls well outside of the GSP scheme and all of the work that we are doing between our two governments is really designed to promote that growth.”

Without getting into the likelihood of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) proposition, the US Assistant Commerce Secretary said, “I want to emphasise that a free trading agreement is one avenue but let’s remember that we are doing so much engagement in ways that are solving problems that are going to facilitate trade.”

On the charge India faces of being protective in its policy-making, he said, “It is important to have a strong manufacturing sector in both of our economies the question is how do we go about it and can we do it in a way that promotes greater integration between our economies that views each other as reliable partners and to build a supply chain that includes both of us.”

On the Indian government’s move to bring semiconductor manufacturing on top of the radar, Venkataraman said, “We look forward to partnering with them (India) we do think  that there are areas where India can contribute  in that space but we also recognize as does the Indian government that none of this happens overnight.”

On how US views India’s G20 presidency, the US senior official said, “India is well positioned to take that leadership position. We welcome the emphasis that the honourable Prime Minister has placed on a number of items on the agenda that the United States shares whether that relates to building an inclusive digital economy or ensuring that there’s a green economy that mitigates the adverse effects of climate change or how do we work together to reform multilateral institutions.”

Leaders of Global Bharat is a top influencer series that aims to focus on ideas that shape the India growth story, recording best practices for emulation and picking up learning and unlearning on offer from people who matter. The series is anchored by Rakesh Khar, Editor, Business and Economy, TV9 Network.