American Chamber of Commerce in India
Apex Chamber of U.S. Industry in India

Interactive Luncheon Session with Ambassador Robert Holleyman, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative – 25th July 2016

On 25th July 2016, AmCham and USIBC co-hosted an interactive session with Ambassador Robert Holleyman, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, at ACSA, U.S. Embassy, New Delhi. The USTR team also included Dawn Shackleford, Deputy Assistant USTR, and Conor Harrington, IPR Director, USTR.

Ambassador Holleyman emphasized USTR’s singular focus of creating a stronger, unified trade relationship between the U.S. and India. They continue to have regular dialogues with GOI. The upcoming 10th U.S. – India Trade Policy Forum (TPF) will take place in New Delhi in October. The team was in town to meet with their counterparts at the Department of Commerce and DIPP to prepare for the TPF. He mentioned, the new IT policy has been encouraging even though the pace of reform may be slower than desired. Some of the areas focused on for this visit included the digital economy, manufacturing and agriculture, to understand where there are points of friction and try to minimize it. They also mentioned patents, trade secrets, local sourcing requirements and trade facilitation. USTR has had positive engagement in the copyright sector as India has consolidated their copyright functions into the DIPP.

Ambassador Holleyman mentioned the “Digital 2 Dozen,” a list of principles embodied in the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). The TPP included cutting-edge obligations are designed to promote the digital economy through a free and open internet and commerce without borders.

Some of the challenges and opportunities highlighted by participants were from the following sectors:

Agriculture
E-commerce
ICT
Insurance
IPR
Medical devices
Pharmaceuticals
It was mentioned that the upcoming U.S. – India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue will have a focus on standards.

Membership

By joining AMCHAM India, you become part of an active and dynamic Apex Chamber of U.S. Industry in India with a membership base of more than 400 American companies in India. AMCHAM is an important voice for policy advocacy, a critical source for business intelligence, a vibrant platform for networking and expanding your business.