Painting a buoyant picture of the Indo-U.S. trade ties, Jennifer McIntyre, Consul-General of the U.S. Consulate General in Chennai, has said the bilateral trade in goods and services between the two countries has increased by four-and-a-half times in the last decade.
Addressing members of the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) here on Thursday as part of an initiative titled ‘Doing business with the U.S.’, Ms. McIntyre pointed to statistics showing trade between the two countries is on an upward trajectory. “Trade between the two countries is expected to cross $100 billion and economic ties are at an all-time high. American firms generated 3.55 lakh jobs in India between 2007 and 2011, and India is the fourth fastest growing source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the U.S.”
According to her figures, U.S. exports to India have gone up by four times and exports to the U.S. from India have gone up by 1.8 times. She said that despite these encouraging developments, India was still only the 13th largest trading partner for the U.S. “Given the size of our economies, we have enormous untapped potential before us,” she said.
Earlier, FKCCI president K. Shiva Shanmugam said that Karnataka enjoys a special place in the bilateral trade relations between the two countries. He said the State emerged as the third biggest investment destination in the country by receiving $9,761-million worth of FDI in 2011-12.
Selling ‘Brand Bangalore’ to the visiting delegation, he said the city was home to the largest bio-cluster with 195 companies which have generated revenues of $170 million. He said that given the volume of the U.S.-India business being generated out of Bangalore, the city should have greater consular presence, starting with a U.S. visa office.
He pointed out that until 1970, the city enjoyed the services of a U.S. information centre with a library and facility to screen films as well as host other cultural activities.
