Kerry urges rapid growth in US-India trade, commercial ties

[Recursion]

Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (off AP wire)

Kerry led the U.S. delegation to the investment summit in Ahmedabad, the main financial city in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat. Kerry said it was imperative that economic ties between the two countries grow for the sake of Indian development, reducing poverty and fighting climate change.

...

Commerce and investment between the United States and India have jumped in recent years, growing nearly five-fold since 2000 with bilateral direct investment at almost $30 billion. But it still faces obstacles dues to restrictive Indian laws and regulations and concerns about intellectual property rights and protection. In addition, talks on liability issues that have kept American nuclear power operators from doing business in India have been inconclusive to date.

U.S. officials said they were working on agreements that could include a solar energy deal, a plan to improve rural electrification and potentially a carbon reduction pact that they hoped could be signed when Obama visits India to participate in India’s annual Republic Day ceremonies on Jan. 26. Modi has invited Obama to be the “chief guest” at the celebration, the first sitting American president to be so honored.

Last year, to the surprise of many, Obama was able to seal a carbon emissions reduction pact with China during a visit to Beijing. The U.S., China and India are the largest emitters of carbon.



Read more: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/general-news/20150111/kerry-urges-rapid-growth-in-us-india-trade-commercial-ties

[JDPriestly]

1. God help us. What a horrible idea!

[Sopkoviak]

2. Because you just can't have too many Madras shirts or shorts

Especially that cool bleeding Madras stuff.

Thank you John.

[JDPriestly]

3. Apparently our trade deficit is too small for Kerry. Again, what a stupid idea.

[Ford_Prefect]

4. One More Banana Republican selling America by the pound.

What about reducing poverty and fighting climate change right here in the USA???????????

[JI7]

5. climate change is a world wide problem that needs to be dealt

with that way. you can't just fix it within certain borders and think it wont affect you.

[Recursion]

6. Poverty is too, for that matter (nt)

[JI7]

7. true

i was thinking of the migrant children coming to the US. if things were better in the south of the border i can only see that as being good for the US also.

[Ford_Prefect]

8. My point is that once more we are continuing to Off-Shore the situation.

Rather than insist our trading partners bring their situation up to the standards we would like to see we are instead enabling more off-shore investment. I agree that we need to help where it is needed and am not condemning "good works" as such.

I have watched my profession sent off-shore to India and cannot agree with the practice. Nor can I see the point in making it easier to do so by any means. The Indian 1% is no less predatory than our own. The Indian economy has grown by sucking the jobs and the income from US employees. I cannot in good conscience ask my wife or my neighbors to pay tax money we cannot afford now that our careers have been sent there to improve situations for which the Indian economy has more than enough income to afford. Let us instead show them how to account for their needs based on their own fortunes (which are quite substantial enough).

We cannot continue to support and export predatory economics no matter who may need to eat in India, or Chile, or Senegal, or South Boston, VA, without taking responsibility for the conditions in your and my neighborhood. Nor can we continue to export our economy wholesale.

The poor are always victims in a Banana Republic. John Kerry should know better than to treat my home town like one. As a life long Democrat raised on the New Deal and the Great Society I am sick and tired of apologists for the practices of Disaster Capitalism.

[karynnj]

9. Kerry is not a Republican and he has been a leader on fighting climate change HERE

You might remember that he was the one who started the effort that led to the pact with China on climate change late last year. It was utterly predicable that he would next work with India. In fact, at least since 2007, he has worked with both the Chinese and Indians on climate change.

Why? Even if the US completely stopped using fossil fuels now - it would not be enough to stop climate change. Not to mention, the excuse the Republicans have always used is that China and India would benefit if the US changed and they didn't -- remember Bryd/Hagel? This is the bill passed BEFORE Kyoto that listed what the Kyoto agreement should include - top of the list - involvement of the big third world nations.

You obviously have no concept of Kerry's liberal record in the Senate -- which was why Teddy Kennedy worked so hard to help him win the primaries in 2004. Kerry's record includes having worked with Kennedy on what became SCHIP, being the champion in the Senate for affordable housing and Youthbuild, which helps under privileged youth. Like Kennedy, Kerry was one of the few Democrats who spoke of the poor -- rather than making everything about the middle class.

[Ford_Prefect]

11. I knew Senator Kerry quite well, Knew him in the days of Vietnam Vets too.

As the point man on trade with Asia when he sells my job future to get a concession on the environment he is the lap dog of the disaster capitalists and no friend of mine. I have the same problem with our president in this regard. Saint Hillary went down that road and now we have TPP prepared to undo all the hard work of the last century on Human Rights and the Environment.

If we trade away everything we have left to make sure (we hope) that "they" will do the right thing to keep the air clean there how will anyone who will be left here to breathe it afford survival. Relocating Poverty is not the same thing as removing it, any more than relocating Coal based power and production plants from this part of the world to that one reduces the water pollution and greenhouse gasses.

It does no one any good when a principled democrat subverts their past in the course of either diplomacy or so-called public service. What they once championed now they willingly sell off by the pound what we once sweated blood to create.
I marched to stop that war and other wars since. I chased congressmen and senators up and down the hill on Civil Rights and Equal Rights. I pounded the pavement and the halls over the ADA, and wrote letters by the truckload.
I have over and over found myself in local and state government meetings repeating explanations about when the AIR and Water are longer viable to elected public officials who too often see their job as enabling just one more mall, housing tract or Walmart (just one more won't really hurt anything that hasn't already been compromised, right?).
I watched my last career be sold overseas and heard over and over the excuses about productivity and wage costs when the vulture capitalists and their enablers in congress sold us out.

So, no I won't clap when the bear dances. You shouldn't either. Bread and Circuses only serve to distract us from what is going on behind the curtain. That is how we are being sold the TPP as the new reality we all "must" accept. How mendacious can it be to sell out what remains of our economy, our laws, our environment over the promise that one magic day the Indian government most recently turned hard right wing will do the right thing regarding poverty and the environment. Why am I not impressed?