India and the US have agreed to follow a clearly defined path for promoting trade instead of fostering haphazard growth, which will see the two countries pick areas of mutual interest starting with rural industries, farm sector and small businesses.

A decision to this effect was arrived at the meeting of the independent Private Sector Advisory Group on trade policy recently.

The group comprising trade experts, who will be providing inputs to the US-India Trade Policy Forum, was set up in April 2007.

"We looked at rural industries, agro sector, small and medium enterprises including the health sector today... It (meeting) has refreshed the US-India trade policy forum," India's Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath told reporters in the capital.

The United States is India's largest trade partner and foremost export destination accounting for 16.83 percent of India's exports and around 6.34 percent of India's imports.

New Delhi accounts for only around 0.75 percent of the US's total exports and imports.

While the US exports to India have grown by over 35 percent in 2005-06, India's exports to the US grew by over 26 percent.

The US-India Trade Policy Forum's objective is to double Indo-US Trade in three years' time.

During the meeting, Nath and United States Trade Representative Susan C Schwab, who co-chair the Forum, said the Group needs to make recommendations keeping in view where the two nations want to be in two to five years.

"I look forward to taking on board PSAG'S recommendations for intensifying trade and investment flows," Schwab said.

The PSAG will meet again in January-February next year in India.

Mr. Divya Aggarwal

Money Management Consultants Ltd

Senior Copy Editor, Money Management Consultants Ltd
New Delhi, India

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