US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross speaks at the 11th Trade Winds Business Forum and Mission hosted by the US Department of Commerce, in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, May 7, 2019. Top executives of more than 100 U.S. companies are visiting India to meet with government leaders, market experts and potential business partners to boost reciprocal trade. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
NEW DELHI (AP) – U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Tuesday that American technologies and expertise could play an important role in developing India’s economy, but were facing significant barriers to accessing its markets.
Ross told a gathering of business leaders in New Delhi that foreign companies were at a disadvantage due to India’s tariff and non-tariff barriers and myriad regulations.
Ross said India was already the world’s third largest economy and by 2030 it would become the world’s largest consumer market because of the rapid growth of its middle class. “Yet today, India is only the U.S 13th largest export market due to overly restrictive market access barriers.”
Meanwhile, the United States is India’s largest export market, accounting for something like 20% of the total. “That’s a real imbalance, and it’s an imbalance we must drive to counter,” he said.
He noted that India’s average applied tariff rate is 13.8%, the highest of any major world economy.