Goyal, Raimondo to discuss critical mineral supplies at sixth India-US commercial dialogue in Washington

New Delhi: Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal and his US counterpart Gina Raimondo will discuss ways to secure supplies of critical minerals in the sixth meeting of the India-US Commercial Dialogue on 3 October in Washington DC, the Indian ministry said on Sunday.

"The two sides are negotiating a memorandum of understanding, which intends to enhance bilateral collaboration to increase and diversify essential critical mineral supply chains and leverage their complementary strengths,” the commerce ministry said.

As part of his US visit starting Monday, Goyal will also engage with top executives from both US and Indian companies on 2 October to explore investment opportunities in India.

Earlier, Mint had reported on September 25 that key topics on the agenda would include the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), trade barriers, and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), among others.

The India-US Commercial Dialogue is a key high-level forum to enhance bilateral trade and investment between the two countries. It promotes collaboration on trade policies, market access, and business opportunities.

Why this is important for India

For India, this dialogue is crucial for resolving trade barriers, boosting exports, and attracting US investments, strengthening economic ties.

The three-day event will also focus on discussions around generating sustainable economic growth, improving the business and investment environment, and strengthening connections between the Indian and US business communities, the ministry said in the statement.

Also read: India-US Dialogue likely to feature talks on GSP, Trade Barriers, and IPEF

"His (minister’s) interactions with business and industry leaders in a roundtable organized by US-India Strategic Partnership Forum will stress upon ways to further leverage the complementary strengths and synergies between the economies of India and USA," it said.

The minister will also chair a Young Business Leaders Roundtable and India-USA Gems & Jewellery Trade Roundtable.

The visit will also include meeting US Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai to discuss ongoing collaboration under the trade policy forum and ways to further add to two-way trade between the two countries.

The minister's visit is expected to further boost the strong and expanding trade and investment relationship between India and the USA.

Also read: India, US working on $1 bn multilateral financing for clean energy supply chain

It aims to foster business-to-business engagement and promote strategic partnerships in key sectors, including critical minerals, supply chain resilience, climate and clean technology cooperation, inclusive digital growth, standards and conformance, and travel and tourism.

India's merchandise exports to the US have risen 54.4% from $54.3 billion in calendar (CY) 2018 to $83.8 billion in CY 2023.

In the services sector, too, India's exports to the US experienced a notable increase, rising from $28.9 billion in CY2018 to $36.3 billion in CY2023, a growth of 25.6%.