PRESIDENT Barack Obama will push hard for US exports during his visit to India, officials said yesterday, as they brushed aside questions on outsourcing and stressed the opportunities for US jobs.
“This really is one of the most important emerging economic relationships for the United States, both multilaterally and bilaterally,” White House deputy national security adviser Mike Froman told reporters before Obama’s trip early next month.
Obama departs three days after a midterm congressional election in which voters are expected to punish his Democrats for high US unemployment which has raised tensions over the outsourcing of American jobs to lower-wage nations like India.
“A key part of the message is going to be that we want to make sure there’s opportunities for US jobs, US exports, and that’s a big part of his mission there,” said Froman in response to several questions about outsourcing.
The White House said it expected several commercial deals between US and Indian companies to be finalized during the visit, and that it was making progress in ironing out existing obstacles to greater trade between the two nations.
Deliberately spending more time in India than in any other foreign country since the start of his presidency, Obama will dedicate three days of his 10-day trip to cementing ties with New Delhi before departing for Indonesia, South Korea and Japan.
The US and India also want to deepen their security and counter-terrorism relationships, and Obama’s first stop on the trip will be to visit a memorial to the 2008 attack on the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai. The White House said he will also stay at the hotel.
But the White House stressed the economic aspects of the visit which will dominate Obama’s first day on the ground and culminate in him speaking to a summit of US and Indian business leaders in Mumbai.
“It’s a great market for US exports. It’s a good source of investment for the United States. There are a lot of jobs in the United States tied to both of those things,” said Froman.
Over 200 US companies will attend the Mumbai summit on November 6, and top chief executives will also meet with Obama to discuss boosting exports to India.
