The United States and India continue to strengthen their economic relationship, characterized by robust trade, investment, and cooperation across various sectors. Bilateral trade between the two nations has seen significant growth, expanding from $19 billion in 2000 to $95 billion in 2013. U.S. goods exports to India amounted to $35 billion last year, supporting an estimated 168,000 jobs in the United States. Meanwhile, Indian investments in the U.S. totaled $9 billion in 2012, creating approximately 100,000 jobs.
Efforts are underway to further enhance this partnership through initiatives such as the U.S.-India Infrastructure Platform. This collaborative effort aims to boost U.S. private sector involvement in India's infrastructure development using advanced technologies.
The U.S.-India CEO Forum serves as a platform for CEOs and senior government officials from both countries to discuss policy issues that could enhance trade and investment. The forum encourages public-private collaboration in areas like cold chain logistics and renewable energy.
The Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor (IPEC) Strategy complements India's Enhanced Look East Policy by promoting connectivity across South and Southeast Asia. The strategy aims to create linkages from Central Asia to Southeast Asia through improved infrastructure and regulatory frameworks.
In aviation security, the United States Trade and Development Agency is funding a project under the U.S.-India Aviation Cooperation Program (ACP). This initiative supports India's Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) in modernizing aviation security standards.
Women's entrepreneurship is also a focus area with initiatives like wPOWER training over 1,000 women entrepreneurs in clean energy solutions for rural households.
Tourism between the two countries remains strong with over one million Americans visiting India last year while more than 850,000 Indians traveled to the United States.
Higher education plays a crucial role in this bilateral relationship with Indian students being the second-largest group of foreign students in the U.S., contributing significantly to its economy.
Collaborative efforts extend into education research partnerships aimed at strengthening teaching and research capabilities across priority fields such as energy and public health.
Both nations are committed to sharing best practices in manufacturing through mechanisms facilitated by organizations like NIST-MEP and EDA focusing on infrastructure development among other areas.
Investment promotion activities include partnerships like SelectUSA working alongside Export-Import Bank of India assisting Indian companies investing within America.
Finally, dialogues such as the Commercial Dialogue provide forums where governments along with private sectors can collaborate ensuring continuous growth diversification within their trade relations while addressing policy issues impacting bilateral engagements via platforms like Trade Policy Forum (TPF).