Parliamentary Panel Reviews India-US Trade in Raipur

Raipur, Jun 11 (PTI) A parliamentary panel on commerce met stakeholders and industry associations in Raipur on Thursday and deliberated on India-US trade relations and explored ways to strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries.

The Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee (DRPSC) on Commerce held detailed discussions on the subject, "Evaluation of India-US Trade Relations", at a meeting, reviewing various aspects related to bilateral trade, investment, exports, imports and economic cooperation between the two countries, a government release said.

The meeting, chaired by Rajya Sabha MP and committee chairperson Dola Sen, was held at a hotel in the Chhattisgarh capital as part of the panel's study tour covering Ahmedabad, Raipur and Bhubaneswar from June 10 to 12. It comes at a time when India and US officials are engaged in talks to finalize a trade deal.

The study visit aims to gather first-hand inputs from stakeholders and officials to prepare a comprehensive and fact-based report on the subject, the release said.


During the meeting, committee members interacted with representatives of agricultural and processed food producers, processors and exporters, as well as regional representatives of industry associations and chambers of commerce.

Representatives of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), the All India Food Processors' Association (AIFPA), the All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA), the Indian Food and Beverage Association (IFBA), the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and the Department of Commerce participated in the deliberations and shared their views.

The committee discussed opportunities to further strengthen India-US trade ties, promote exports and expand global market access for agricultural and processed food products, it said.

Members of the cross-party committee offered suggestions on various aspects of bilateral trade and deliberated on measures to deepen economic engagement between India and the US, it said.

Panel members, including MPs Amra Ram, Biswajit Sinha, Ramesh Awasthi, Atul Garg and Renuka Chowdhury, attended the meeting.