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Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Beyond Cherries and Mangoes: Taking US-India Trade to the Next Level

Start Date: 3/29/2023 10:00 AM EDT
End Date: 3/29/2023 11:00 AM EDT

Venue Name: Virtual


Organization Name: WIIT

Contact:
WIIT
Email: info@wiit.org
Phone: (202) 869-3775

Jointly Organized By:


The United States and India held their 13th Ministerial level meeting of the US-India Trade Policy Forum in Washington, DC on January 11, 2023. While outcomes from the forum were modest, India has expressed desire for a much deeper engagement with the United States. India’s appetite for FTAs with its strategic trading partners has increased significantly in recent years—and the country has concluded or is in negotiations with several important trading partners including the UAE, Australia, UK, Canada and the EU. Prospects for a US-India FTA appear dim. However, there may be several areas where the two countries may find synergies. The development of resilient supply chains, particularly in critical sectors, the urgent need to reverse climate change through the development of clean technologies and the importance of developing a serious counterbalance to China are all areas where the two countries share similar goals and might benefit from a deeper trading relationship.

Join the Association of Women in International Trade (WIIT) and the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center for a panel discussion on what a heightened trade relationship between these two large economies might look like. We will speak with experts from the US and India to examine issues that may be ripe for collaboration and will discuss a roadmap for getting there.

The discussion is off-the-record.

Opening Remarks by Irfan Nooruddin

Moderated by Moushami Joshi


Panelists:
  • Suja K. Menon
  • Mark Linscott
  • Shuchita Sonalika
  • Susan Ritchie

Bios:

Irfan Nooruddin is the senior director of the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center and the Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Professor of Indian Politics in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Irfan conducts research in the political economy of development, trade, and investment, and the challenges of democratization in the 21st century. He is the author of The Everyday Crusade (Cambridge University Press, 2022), Elections in Hard Times (Cambridge University Press, 2016), Coalition Politics and Economic Development (Cambridge University Press, 2011) and more than thirty scholarly articles and book chapters. In 2012, he was a Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC., and is a Team Member of Lokniti: Programme in Comparative Democracy in New Delhi, India.
 
Irfan has a PhD in Political Science from the University of Michigan and a BA in Economics from Ohio Wesleyan University. He was born and raised in Bombay, India.

Mark Linscott is a non-resident senior fellow in the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Program and a senior advisor at The Asia Group. Mark was a career US trade negotiator for almost three decades. He was an Assistant US Trade Representative (USTR) for more than 15 years, including Environment and Natural Resources, WTO and Multilateral Affairs, and South and Central Asian Affairs. In his last role as the Assistant USTR for South and Central Asian Affairs, Mark was the lead US trade negotiator with India. Earlier in his career, Mark served in the US mission to the WTO in Geneva, Switzerland from 1996-2002, and at the U.S. Department of Commerce.  He holds a bachelor degree in economics from the University of Virginia and a juris doctor degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

Suja K. Menon is currently posted as Minister (Commerce & Education) at Embassy of India, Washington DC. She was earlier Counsellor (Political) and Chief of Staff to the Ambassador. She belongs to the 2005 batch of the Indian Foreign Service. She has served in Indian Missions in Paris (2007-2008), Mauritius (2008-2011) & Colombo (2017-2020). In Delhi, she has served as Under Secretary (Foreign Service Personnel) in the Administration Division in the Ministry of External Affairs, that handles personnel matters (2011-2014). She was also Desk Officer in Americas Division dealing with India-US bilateral relations (2014-2017).
 
She holds a Graduate Degree in Economics from Government College for Women, Thiruvananthapuram, and a Postgraduate and M. Phil degree in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. She secured All India 4th rank in the Indian Civil Services Examination in 2005 and was the topper among women candidates. She is also a published poet and author.

Susan Ritchie is Vice President, Trade and Technology Policy at the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum and leader of the multi-sector Trade Taskforce. She is a telecommunications and technology industry veteran with experience working on senior management teams at multi-national corporations including Discovery Communications and AT&T. She currently serves on the U.S. International Digital Economy and Telecommunications Advisory Committee.

Prior to joining the Forum, she was Senior Advisor at the United States Department of State’s International Communications Information Policy group where she managed digital economy policy issues including Internet, data flows, privacy, e-commerce, trade and telecommunications. Ritchie represented the U.S. in international fora including G-7, G-20, OECD and the International Telecommunications Union. Ritchie managed bi-lateral relationships for a number of large countries including Mexico and India, where Ritchie managed the U.S.–India ICT Working Group.

Shuchita Sonalika is the Director and Head- North America at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Washington DC. With over 15 years of experience in international business, marketing, public policy and communication fields, she is responsible for managing initiatives that promote India-US and India-Canada economic relations by way of business conferences and programs, two-way trade and investment missions, as well as research and policy-related projects. Prior to this role, she was the head the CII’s UK operations based in London. 

Shuchita joined the International Division at the CII headquarters in New Delhi in January 2009. Earlier, she consulted on various international marketing projects in key global markets. A graduate of the Robert H. Smith School of Business, she specialized in International Business and holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Maryland.

Moushami is a member of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP’s International Trade Practice based out of Washington, D.C. She advises clients on customs and tariffs issues, domestic procurement laws under buy america/n, trade remedy proceedings, WTO disputes and FCPA compliance issues. Before joining Pillsbury Winthrop, Moushami headed the International Trade practice at a leading Indian law firm, Luthra & Luthra Law offices in New Delhi where she represented and advised the Government of India in WTO disputes and on a host of WTO policy matters. Moushami is qualified to practice in New York, Washington DC and India.

Moushami serves as a Board Member at the Association of Women in International Trade. She has also served as the VP and Co-VP of Programming at WIIT and the Co-Chair of the WTO section.

 

Online Registration

Registration is Closed
Closed: 3/29/2023 11:00 AM

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