The US has described India as having the ‘highest general barriers’ among all the large economies of the world and pitched for lowering them to take the bilateral trade relations to a greater height.

Eric Garcetti, the US ambassador to India, said Indian industry should call for bringing down those barriers as they hurt the local manufacturers more than they hurt America.

In his maiden visit to Calcutta, the ambassador also suggested that both countries should not deal with trade and investment issues piecemeal, referring to multiple exceptions made for manufacturing of iPhones and how the semiconductor industry still faces multiple prohibitive rules.

Interacting with industrialists at a meet organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Garcetti said both countries can achieve bolder and more ambitious trade by having ‘greater trusts’. “And trust is established by having fewer barriers,” he said.

Garcetti was responding to a plea made by Sanjay Budhia, chairman of CII national committee on EXIM, to restore generalised systems of preference benefits to Indian exports.

The Trump administration revoked the GSP benefits, which allowed 1,900 Indian products from sectors such as chemical and engineering duty free access to the US in 2019. The Biden administration, which took charge in early 2021, is yet to restore it.

Acknowledging that GSP should be the foundation of the ambition that both countries have, Garcetti highlighted that acceleration of Indo-US relationship has never been so fast. “For the first time we have a President who knows the importance of India not just during his time as President but for the next century” he said.

Garcetti said the two countries worked to bring down tariffs during Indian PM Narendra Modi’s visit that resulted in making exceptions on both sides, such as allowing steel import to the US.

“We have to get real. We can’t just make these things exceptions. We need to make them the rules. In the US and in India. Manufacturing of iPhone should not be an exception of 10 different waivers, it should be for any company that wants to manufacture technology here,” he said.

Garcetti said there were too many rules right now that stop India from becoming a semiconductor powerhouse. “We need to ensure laws are passed here that guarantee a decade of investments in the sector.”

Bengal as logistic capital

The US ambassador met Amit Mitra, principal chief adviser to chief minister Mamata Banerjee, and Vandana Yadav, secretary of industry and commerce, and explored ways to invest in infrastructure.

He said Bengal has the potential to be the logistic capital not just for India but for a higher gateway between south Asia, South East Asia and east Asia together. Sources said the US is interested in working in the areas of climate change and clean energy.