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Thursday, March 29, 2012
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In final city of India trade mission, Secretary Bryson focuses on investing in America

U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson was in Mumbai today, the third and final city in his business development mission to India. In addition to exploring opportunities for the 16 U.S. businesses on the mission to promote their technologies and services in India’s rapidly expanding infrastructure sector, the visit focused on the president’s SelectUSA initiative, the first coordinated federal effort to promote and facilitate foreign and domestic business investment in the United States. SelectUSA is led by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
 
In the morning, Secretary Bryson and the delegates toured a new terminal being constructed at Mumbai International Airport and met with airport management. Several U.S. companies have provided services and equipment to the airport, playing a major role in helping to modernize one of India’s busiest airports.

“India’s future growth hinges on a strong domestic economy supported by world-class infrastructure,” said Bryson. “The U.S. companies who have joined me on this mission are innovators and leaders in their fields and welcome the opportunity to partner with India to enhance infrastructure in energy, transportation and other critical areas.”

Following the tour, Bryson met with Indian industry leaders and investors to talk about SelectUSA, the first coordinated effort by the U.S. government to attract new business investments to America. India, one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, is a priority market under the SelectUSA initiative. Bryson also delivered remarks at a luncheon hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), where he talked about how the U.S.-India bilateral relationship is stronger than ever, and encouraged Indian investment in the U.S. as a means of fostering economic growth and job creation in both countries. In his remarks, he also highlighted the importance of this week’s renewal of the U.S.-India Commercial Dialogue, as well as moving forward in discussions to establish a Bilateral Investment Treaty, which would support greater stability and protections for investors in both countries. Following his remarks, the Secretary formally inaugurated the U.S-India Investors Forum (USIIF), a group of 35 Indian CEOs interested in investing in the United States.

“Our bilateral investment relationship with India is getting stronger each day, but it is still far from its full potential," said Bryson. "Our message today is absolutely clear: We welcome India's investments. America has world-class universities, cutting-edge R&D, deep supply chains, powerful IP protections, a strong patent system that is getting better each day, and a talented and productive workforce."

In the afternoon, Bryson held meetings with several industry leaders to further discuss potential areas of partnership with U.S. firms. He also met with Mumbai Commercial Service staff, who work to help U.S. companies export to India or expand their market reach. U.S. Commercial Service trade professionals work in more than 70 countries worldwide to connect U.S. businesses looking to export with buyers overseas.
 
Tomorrow, Bryson will wrap up the trade mission with the inauguration of the Visit USA Committee India (VUSACOM), a group started with the support of the U.S. Commercial Service that aims to promote travel by Indian citizens to the U.S.

The trade mission builds on President Obama’s historic visit to India in 2010 and advances both President Obama’s SelectUSA initiative, announced in June 2011, and the president’s National Export Initiative, which aims to double U.S. exports by the end of 2014 to create good-paying U.S. jobs. India is a key market for both initiatives, especially given the acceleration of the pace of trade between the United States and India. Between 2002 and 2011, U.S. goods exported to India more than quintupled, growing from $4.1 billion in 2002 to more than $21.6 billion in 2011.

Visit the Commerce Department’s India trade mission website at http://export.gov/IndiaMission2012/ for updates on the mission.