Congressional Statements

Pallone tells India Economic Summit that U.S. and India are allies

Speech at India Economic Summit, New Delhi
November 25, 2002

U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), the founder of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, was upbeat on the U.S. commitment to India when he spoke at the India Economic Summit in New Delhi on November 25.

"India and the U.S. have a lot in common as the world's two largest democracies, and they share common strategic goals in South Asia," Pallone said. "However, there is an urgent need for them to move forward with trade and economic development. I believe that both the Bush Administration and the U.S. Congress on a bipartisan basis are committed to a substantial economic and political partnership both near and long term."

Pallone pointed to several recent political developments in India in which U.S. opinion makers have taken notice of the shared principles of democracy and secularism between the U.S. and India.

"The state elections in Jammu and Kashmir were viewed as a test of Indian democracy, and fared well in that regard," Pallone continued. "They were relatively free with a larger percentage of participation than expected. Most important, they resulted in a change of state government, the best indicator of transparency, and they gave hope to a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir conflict.

"The BJP government's efforts to create calm in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the Hindu Temple complex near Ahmedabad was also seen as significant in Washington," Pallone continued. "U.S. policy makers see India's secularism as a key shared value with America. To the extent that the communal violence in Gujarat takes away from that principle, it hurts our relationship. New Delhi's commitment not to repeat what happened in Gujarat after the train attack earlier this year is very important for this reason."

Pallone also stressed the U.S./India defense relationship in the aftermath of September 11th, and the potential for a long-term security alliance.

"India's offer to use its territory for U.S. operations against the Taliban after September 11th was appreciated in Washington," Pallone said. "It has resulted in closer defense ties that have been manifested in joint military exercises over the past year as well as offers of military equipment sales to India.

"The most significant development has been the United States tacit approval of India's nuclear weapons program," Pallone continued. "Policy makers in Washington have taken notice of India's no first use doctrine, and the strict civilian military control of India's nuclear arsenal. The fact that India's nuclear program is home grown has taken on additional meaning in light of the Pakistani/North Korean weapons transfers."

The New Jersey congressman spend most of his time at the India Economic Summit discussing the need to promote greater trade and economic development between the U.S. and India.

"The Bush Administration in recent months has come to the realization that our two countries' relationship must grow economically if we are to continue to improve our political and strategic partnership." Pallone said. "The U.S. Congress can play an important part in lowering taxes and tariffs on a reciprocal basis with India. The India Caucus can take a leadership role in educating our colleagues in Congress on the importance of eliminating trade barriers."

Pallone noted that most of the Americans who spoke at the India Economic Summit stressed the need in India to change its laws and bureaucracy so it was easier for Americans to invest. U.S. Secretary of Treasury Paul O'Neill, who was in New Delhi at the same time for the G-20 Summit, said there is still too much government interference with business decisions in India. However, Pallone stressed several positive developments fostered between top officials in the Bush Administration and India's government in November.

"One of the most important parts of Undersecretary of State Alan Larsen's visit to India on November 7th and 8th was the launching of the U.S./ India Biotechnology Alliance with the cooperation of the Confederation of Indian Industry," Pallone said. "This was seen by many American business leaders as the next big area of U.S. trade and investment after the high tech sector.

"Larsen's trip came one week before Undersecretary of Commerce Kenneth Juster visited India to engage in a dialogue with an Indian delegation led by Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal," Pallone continued. "They agreed to create an India/U.S. High Technology Cooperation Group, which would develop principles governing bilateral cooperation in high tech trade that advances the countries relationship.

"Finally, a very important development in terms of U.S./India trade will occur with the appointment of a new assistant U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) for South Asia. This new position clearly reflects the increasing importance the Bush Administration places on South Asia to U.S. economic and national security interests."

Pallone's hopeful that the new assistant USTR for South Asia will work with Congress to offset the huge U.S./China economic relationship by developing trade with India as an alternative.

"The India Caucus can play an important role in educating our colleagues and the Administration on how India can be a strategic buffer to China," Pallone continued. "I am hopeful for more breakthroughs in future WTO negotiations. We also need to identify key sectors where reciprocal tax and tariff reductions can be most effective.

"India's bilateral relationship with the U.S. was hampered in the past because of the Cold War, but the partnership has improved significantly in the last five to ten years. As the largest democracies in the world, we are natural allies, and I know we can continue to improve our bilateral trade, economic and defense relations," Pallone concluded.