US Wants Trade Pact; Post COVID-19 World Presents "Golden Opportunity For India": US Diplomat

Washington:

Underlining that India has not been able to crack trade deals, a senior US diplomat on Wednesday said it needs to bring economic reforms to grab the opportunity provided by the coronavirus crisis.

Alice Wells, the outgoing Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, said the US wants a trade pact but India has not been able to do so.

Companies want to diversify their supply chains post-COVID 19, this really represents "a golden opportunity for India", which we think it should seize with market-friendly approaches instead of protectionist impulses, she said observing that the US really wants to work with India to improve the business environment.

"I would point out that we're a country that makes trade deals. As rough and tumble as these discussions are, we make deals. We have not seen India be able to make these trade deals yet," Alice Wells told told a Washington DC-based think tank.

"So, this is not just a US issue. It's an issue that India faces and its relations with the EU, Australia, other countries," Wells told former US Ambassador to India, Richard Verma, during a virtual discussion organised by the Atlantic Council.

She said there'' a real opportunity for diversification as countries are looking to de-risk from China.

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