Biden admn, US companies welcomed economic reforms by India: Sitharaman

Washington, October 16

India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman here said the Biden Administration and leaders from the corporate sector in the US had welcomed recent economic reforms introduced by her government.

"The reforms that we've undertaken, particularly the steps taken for the withdrawal of the retrospective tax, have been mentioned by the United States Administration as a very positive step," she said.

"The businesses with whom we have been interacting have also welcomed that decision," Sitharaman told reporters here at the conclusion of the Washington DC-leg of her US trip.

From here, she will go to New York for an interactive session with the business community before flying back home. 

She started her week-long trip from Boston.

"Many of them (businesses) thought it was bold and even though it took some time to come. We have also explained that they were legal compulsions before which we had to wait because some of the litigations which were going on had to come to a logical conclusion," she said.

"We waited and the moment the logical conclusions were reached, we went to Parliament in withdrawing that. That's been overall very positively welcomed," she said. 

Responding to a question on a trade deal with the US, the finance minister said her focus was on investment incentivising agreement for which there is time till December. 

"We have spoken about it. The two countries would like to carry on the negotiation and conclude at the earliest," she said.

"But on the larger issue of the trade itself, is something which commerce (ministry) is working together with the (American) counterpart. So, I have not engaged in depth into that," she said.

No stranger to India-US relationship, as she played a key role in this during her previous stints as the commerce and defence minister, this was Sitharaman's first trip to the US after the Covid pandemic hit both the countries. PTI