'Chalen sath sath' will guide India, US bilateral ties: US Trade Representative Michael Froman

NEW DELHI: Attributing the "breakthrough in the WTO" to personal intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama, the US Trade Representative today said the "mantra of chalen sath sath" will guide the trade and investment relations between the two countries.

US Trade Representative Michael Froman expressed hope the Trade Facilitation Agreement ( TFA), which is a "win-win" pact for developed and developing nations, will be approved by WTO's General Council meeting in the next few days.

"The breakthrough at the WTO could not have been possible without the direct and personal engagement of Prime Minister Modi and President Obama. They gave our partnership a mantra "chalen saath saath"...and that's what we are doing in WTO and that's what we are doing in our bilateral trade and investment relationship as well," he said.

He was addressing members of industry chamber Ficci. The US and India have recently resolved differences over the food stockpiling issue at WTO, paving the way for implementation of pending trade pact to ease customs norms.

"This pace of engagement is impressive, but shouldn't be surprising for what President Obama declared the defining partnership of the 21st century. Our task is to build on our mutual interests, with mutual respect, and deliver on the promise of that partnership," the he said.

Froman will co-chair the Trade Policy Forum meet with Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tomorrow.

Talking about the food stockpiling issue, he said the US is focused on addressing legitimate food security needs.

"As part of the deal to allow TFA to be fully implemented, we agree to intensify efforts to find a permanent solution to the food stockpiling issue and eliminate ambiguity in the Bali package about the availability of the so-called Peace Clause in the meantime, provided that food stockpiling programs meet the conditions set in Bali.

"Together we agreed that both these elements - TFA and food stockpiling issues --should be approved simultaneously in the WTO General Council," he added.

It has been agreed between the two that the 'peace clause', crucial for uninterrupted implementation of India's food security programme, will continue indefinitely till a permanent solution is found by the WTO.