Ambassador Demetrios Marantis, US Deputy Trade Representative

Namrata Kath Hazarika | 17 Aug, 2009
In an exclusive interview with SME Times, Ambassador Demetrios Marantis, US Deputy Trade Representative, said that US is seeking new areas of collaboration, such as the development of links between Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in both countries.

Excerpts of the interview...

Trade relation between US and India has come down drastically due to the global recession. What is your reaction on this?
Demetrios Marantis: The signs show that the peak of the recession may be behind us, and it is our hope that bilateral trade, too, will improve.

Do you sense any kind of improvement in Indo-US trade relation?
Demetrios Marantis: Definitely. The US-India commercial relationship is the strongest it has ever been.

Do you feel the US-India Trade would double in the next five years from the present US$ 44 Million?
Demetrios Marantis: It is very possible. Given the synergies between US and Indian companies, and the strength of our government to government interaction, this target is achievable.

Can we except any FTA between India and US in future?
Demetrios Marantis:  It is our hope that the strength of our bilateral relationship will set into place a foundation for greater trade integration.

Which are the key sectors that can have huge investment between India and US?
Demetrios Marantis: There are numerous opportunities in all sectors. Defense trade, higher education, infrastructure, and innovative science are just a few examples of the potential for US-India collaboration when given the right opportunity.

Is there any driver for the rapid recovery of US economy. Will the President Obama's administration put the economy back on track?
Demetrios Marantis: President Obama has made the recovery of the U.S. economy his number-one priority, and has said in recent days that the worst of the recession may well be behind us.  It will take continued hard work at home and international cooperation – including a commitment to a robust, vibrant, rules-based trading system – to continue to advance economic recovery around the world.

Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy, and the primary source of jobs for Americans. What initiative that the US government is taking in order to remove barriers in Indo-US trading system?
Demetrios Marantis: The Indo-US Trade Policy Forum is our main bilateral mechanism for discussing trade and investment issues. The two governments are working to overcome impediments to trade and investment, and we are seeking new areas of collaboration, such as the development of links between SMEs in both countries. However, there is an ongoing discussion on a bilateral investment treaty between India and US which aims to ease inflow of capital between both the countries. In this context, US has asked India to give pre-establishment national treatment status for investments made by the US companies where they (US companies) do not have to go through any screening process undertaken by Indian government agencies such as the inter-ministerial Foreign Investment Promotion Board.

The World Trade Report 2009 has also suggested that global business may shrink by an unprecedented 10 percent this year. What do you suggest? Are the United States and India ready to re-launch efforts to reach a new global trade deal under the Doha negotiations?
Demetrios Marantis: The US is committed to a balanced and ambitious conclusion to the Doha round, with a meaningful market access outcome for all involved.  Ambassador Ron Kirk has been very clear that the United States is ready to move forward with both multilateral and bilateral discussions – including with India - toward that end.

What is the furture of Doha talks? What is the reason of the collapse of Doha talks after coming very close to an agreement?
Demetrios Marantis: Moving Doha forward to a successful conclusion is a matter of bringing new creativity to the multilateral process and having sustained bilateral engagement take place among key players, such as the United states and India, in order to move the negotiations into the endgame as soon as possible.