Amid governments' all out effort of increasing ease of doing business in the country, and an ambitious bilateral trade target of $500 billion with US. The US Ambassador Richard Verma has said that problems related to ease of doing business such as taxation, regulatory burdens and legal issues can deter American investors from investing in India.
He said that on the trade and investment front, we have been taking up the ease of doing business factors that sometimes can deter the US companies and investors such as tax and legal certainty and easing regulatory burdens. He added that 'I think we are making progress in that regard and it's not just US companies that are voicing those concerns, it is also Indian companies who are coming together and voicing similar concerns.”
Verma said that in the last Trade Policy Forum meeting, both sides discussed in detail the trade relationships with the goal of continuing to break down trade barriers and laying the foundation for reaching the trade target of $ 500 billion. In 2005, the two-way trade between the countries was about $ 35 billion, which exceeded to $105 billion last year, but it's still the pockets compared to the size of our economy and the number of people we trade with.
He further added that in 2005, there were 200 US companies in India and now there are over 500, employing several million people. Agriculture trade between the two countries too has increased to $ 7 billion from $ 1.5 billion in 2005.