Trade ministers of both countries sign Memorandum of Understanding. Cooperation in strategic sectors such as semiconductors and aerospace has already been intensified recently.
India and the USA want to strengthen bilateral supply chains in the field of critical minerals for the energy and mobility transition. Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and his US counterpart Gina Raimondo signed a Memorandum of Understanding to this effect in Washington on Thursday. Their meeting was part of the U.S.-India CEO Forum, a platform that brings together leading representatives of the two countries’ economies.
In a subsequent speech, Goyal named the development of technologies and the promotion of investment flows in the green energy sector as objectives of the new agreement, in addition to the establishment of supply chains. Mineral-rich third countries in Africa and South America are also to be included.
However, comme Reuters écrit, the MoU “falls far short” of a comprehensive raw materials agreement, such as the one the USA has signed with Japan (nous avons rapporté). This gives Japan access to the tax benefits of the Loi sur la réduction de l'inflation, a US subsidy package for climate-friendly technologies such as electric cars.
India and the USA have already intensified their cooperation in recent months, partly in order to establish a counterweight to China. Both countries want to become less dependent on the raw materials giant through domestic mining and new partnerships. India is also positioning itself as an emerging economic power and potential future competitor to China, particularly in the technology sector. Just a few days ago, US President Joe Biden and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed an agreement to jointly build a semiconductor factory on the subcontinent (nous avons rapporté). At the end of June, the two countries joined forces to cooperate more closely in strategic sectors such as semiconductors, space, telecommunications, artificial intelligence and clean energy.
Photo : iStock/SeventyFour
