India and the United States are on track to be two of the biggest, most consequential trade partners in the world, Donald Lu, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian affairs, said today. On Chinese aggression along the border with India, he said the US has not seen China take good faith steps.
Speaking to NTDV, he confirmed that Antony John Blinken, United States Secretary of State, will travel to India in March for the G20 foreign ministers' meeting and the multilateral conference Raisina Dialogue, organised by an Indian policy think tank.
India's National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval is travelling to the US in two weeks to take about critical and emerging technologies, he added.
On the US trade preference program, Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), Mr Lu said beneficiary status for India is a "very big issue". The GSP allows for duty-free imports on thousands of products from beneficiary countries.
"The US Congress has not yet passed the GSP legislation. But both India and the US are working to realign India so that it meets all the standards when the Congress passes it," he said.
Donald Lu reiterated that the US has been clear on its policy on India and China for a long time -- that the border issue should be resolved bilaterally. However, he pointed out that China has not taken good faith steps to resolve the issue.
"We have not seen China take good faith steps to resolve the border issue. In fact, quite the opposite, with aggressive Chinese moves, most recently in India's north-east. In 2020, when the Galwan Valley clash happened, US was the first to criticise Chinese aggression and offer support to India. The US will continue to stand with India," he said.
On sharing military technology, Mr Lu said India is set to procure 30 of the most advanced predator armed drones -- the MQ9B -- which the US has not shared with many countries yet.
He also indicated that the US might appoint a permanent Ambassador to India soon. "Our system is quite slow. It can take very long to confirm an Ambassador. But we hope Eric Garcetti's name for Ambassador to India will be cleared soon," he said.
Regarding India's neighbours, he said that with new edicts of Taliban on women's rights, the US is worried assistance won't reach women in Afghanistan as they are not in the system any more. "The recent decisions by Taliban on women can have far-reaching negative consequences for the Afghan society," he said.
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