On July 18, 2005, the United States and India announced the establishment of a new standing bilateral committee, the United States–India Trade Policy Forum. The Trade Policy Forum, co-chaired by the United States Trade Representative and India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, or their Deputies, replaced the U.S.–India Working Group on Trade, which was established in 2000.

In November 2005, India and the United States agreed on steps to facilitate and promote more trade and investment between the two countries. Specifically, both sides agreed to establish the following five focus groups that would meet on a regular basis:

• Agriculture,
• Tariff and Non-Tariff Barriers,
• Services,
• Investment, and
• Innovation and Creativity.

Each focus group is chaired by senior officials in the United States and India. To date, the Forum has successfully resolved a number of outstanding trade irritants and established detailed work plans to address outstanding issues and opportunities to improve bilateral trade and investment.

Focus Group on Agriculture

As of June 2006, the Focus Group on Agriculture (FGA) is co-chaired on the U.S. side by two representatives of the United States Department of Agriculture: Chuck Lambert, Acting Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs and A. Ellen Terpstra, Deputy Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services. The FGA addresses a revolving list of agricultural trade-related issues, using various venues for frequent communication, including face-to-face meetings and videoconferences.

U.S. agricultural, fish and forestry exports to India in 2005 were nearly $300 million, while imports from India were $1.3 billion. India is currently the 35th largest export market for U.S. agricultural goods.