India-US trade policy forum will help move past rhetoric: US Chamber of Commerce

WASHINGTON: Terming the Indo-US engagement as encouraging, the US Chamber of Commerce has said the re-launch of a trade policy forum is a critical step in moving past rhetoric and building trust between the two countries.

"The ongoing engagement between our governments over the last several months has been encouraging," said Patrick Kilbride, executive director for International IP policy at the US Chamber's Global Intellectual Policy Center.

"The re-launch of the (India-US) Trade Policy Forum is a critical step in moving past rhetoric, and building trust and understanding based on common values," he said, adding that there is ample evidence that both countries share a wide range of mutual interests in the global economy, including intellectual property and innovation.

Kilbride said in both the discussions of the Trade Policy Forum and the government's formulation of IP policy they hope to see signs of a government-wide commitment to strong intellectual property rights in India.

"Those signs would include an indication that India will join well-established international treaties for intellectual property protection, rejection of compulsory licensing as a commercial tool and plans to strengthen the institutions of government that IP-intensive industries rely on," he said.

"These steps are not merely in the interest of global innovators, but are in the interests of India's own innovators and its future economic growth," Kilbride said.