Indo-US strategic trade talks: Foreign Secy Vinay Kwatra to travel to US this month

Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra will hold talks with Alan F Estevez, Under Secretary, Bureau of Industry and Security in the US Department of Commerce. (File Image source: ANI)

Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra will be leaving for Washington this month for the first strategic trade dialogue between India and the United States.

The strategic trade dialogue will allow the two sides to address issues of export controls, explore ways of enhancing high-technology commerce, and facilitate technology transfer.

The exact date of the meeting will be announced soon.

Kwatra will hold talks with Alan F Estevez, Under Secretary, Bureau of Industry and Security in the US Department of Commerce.

The dialogue in this crucial area comes amid scepticism from a section of American commentators on India’s reliability as a strategic partner to the US, especially in its fight with China for domination in the Indo-Pacific.

The fact that the strategic trade dialogue is being held indicates that despite such scepticism in some quarters in the US, the Joe Biden Administration is still keen on developing strong ties with India as a close partner in Asia.

The decision to launch the new framework of dialogue was taken at a meeting between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in March in New Delhi.

The strategic trade dialogue comes under the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).

The dialogue is part of the two countries' desire to build resilient and trusted global supply chains which became essential for most countries after the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown severely disrupted the supply chains of food and other items throughout the world.

In May 2022, US President Biden launched the IPEF, an initiative aimed at deeper cooperation among like-minded countries in areas such as clean energy, supply-chain resilience and digital trade.

But some strong supporters of India in the US are now questioning if America made a mistake by choosing it as a close Washington ally since Delhi has been most reluctant to join any US-led military coalition against China.

“New Delhi will never involve itself in any US confrontation with Beijing that does not directly threaten its own security,” Ashley J Tellis, a leading American commentator, said in an essay in a leading journal recently.

According to him, India values cooperation with Washington for the tangible benefits it brings. But does not believe that it must, in turn, materially support the US in any crisis, even those which are a common threat for both countries, like China.

“Washington’s current expectations of India are misplaced,” Tellis concludes.

But the Biden Administration, both in words and deeds, has continued to treat India in the same manner as its NATO partners.

It has shared cutting-edge technology, and US technology exports to India that require special licences have been removed drastically from 25 per cent to 0.5 per cent in the last 25 years.

From Bill Clinton to George W Bush onwards successive US presidents have tried to build close bilateral ties to bolster India’s capabilities in order to strengthen democratic forces in Asia.

The iCET encompasses a wide variety of fields, including semiconductors, space, artificial intelligence (AI), next-generation communications, high-performance computing and quantum technologies.

Most Indian experts would also acknowledge that India’s partnership with the US that encompasses a wide-range of areas of mutual concern and benefit to the two countries, is perhaps the most substantive relationship for New Delhi at present.

India has established strategic trade laws and effectively implemented regulations, which have enabled the US to share technology with it.

Thea Rozman Kendler, Assistant Secretary for Export Administration in the US Department of Commerce, was in New Delhi last month ahead of the first strategic trade talks between the two countries.

The focus of her discussions was on dual-use export control issues.

Dual-use items are goods, software and technology that can be used for civilian and military applications.

Kendler told reporters the US is working with countries, such as India, to ensure that Russia cannot illegally obtain items that the US and its allies have restricted under sanctions imposed following the invasion of Ukraine last year.

But Tellis pointed out that none of these initiatives guarantee any specific outcomes as the US government can “make or break” the initiative by not releasing the licenses that many joint ventures will require.

Much of the frustration about India not being as enthusiastic in joining the US initiative against China comes in the wake of the Taiwan crisis between Washington and Beijing.

Many Indian commentators over the past months have been trying to build opinion within the country on why India, which also faces security threat from China’s aggression at its border, must join the American alliance against the Chinese on the Taiwan issue.

However, the Indian government has not shown any signs of making common cause with the US and its other Asian allies on Taiwan.

India had expressed its concern over the rising tension in the Taiwan Straits since last year and urged all parties to maintain peace and calm to ensure an open and free Indo-Pacific.

But for Tellis’ comments, there is nothing so far to suggest that the US government is miffed at India not joining its efforts on Taiwan.

However, since the comments from one of the most prominent India-hand in Washington comes just days before the crucial strategic trade talks, it will give the Indian foreign secretary an opportunity to ascertain the current mood in the US Administration about its growing partnership with India.