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The President: Well, I'm
going to have an opportunity
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to address Business Summit
immediately following this
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meeting so I'm going to keep
my remarks relatively brief.
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I want to first of all thank
all the business leaders,
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both from the Indian
community as well as from
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the United States.
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As David noted, this is
the third in a series
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of business summits
that we've established
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and they have been
extraordinarily useful
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to us in identifying
problems and then generating
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practical solutions.
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And Dave's right.
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The first one that we
had didn't result
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in concrete action, not
surprisingly; we hadn't
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received recommendations yet.
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The subsequent meeting
generated some very concrete
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recommendations and many
of them were acted upon
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with some dispatch.
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I think this has
already been noted.
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I think there's special
excitement about this meeting
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because Prime Minister Modi
has brought new energy
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and vigor to redesigning the
architecture here in India
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so that more business, greater
growth, greater investment
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can take place and
what I'm excited about
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is the fact that, not
only do we have a lot
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of U.S. businesses who are
interested in investing
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in India, but we also have
a lot of Indian companies
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who are already investing
in the United States
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and want to do
more business.
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So I appreciate all of your
input and I want to emphasize
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that we pay a lot of attention
to what you have to say.
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We're not always going to
immediately be able to solve
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every problem that's been
brought up but you're going
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to see sustained engagement
from my administration,
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as we try to work through
each of the recommendations
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that you've made.
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The good news is that
during my visit in 2010
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I said I wanted to boost
trade and investment
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between India and
the United States.
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In the last few years we've
increased trade by some
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60 percent, nearly -- nearing
a record $100 billion.
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U.S. exports to India
are up 35 percent.
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That means jobs in
the United States.
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Exports from India to the
United States are also
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up, and that means
jobs here in India.
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So there is enormous
potential for U.S. workers
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and Indian workers
to see advancement
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as our countries
learn to cooperate.
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So, we're moving in
the right direction.
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But I think what's been
clear from all the comments
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here is that there's huge
untapped potential that
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we have not yet realized.
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There's a lot more work
that needs to be done.
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We want to see more trade.
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We want to see more investment
that will deliver real
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benefits to our people and
the kind of sustainable
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growth that will benefit
both Indians and Americans.
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A couple of themes that have
emerged: I do this for the
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benefit of our press corps.
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I think there's great
interest in -- on the part
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of U.S. companies to
find consistency,
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clarity, greater simplicity
in the regulatory
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and tax environment
in India.
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If that occurs, I think
you're going to see a lot
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more business here and
that's consistent with many
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of the reforms that Prime
Minister Modi has articulated.
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There's also great
interest in finding ways
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to finance improved
infrastructure inside of India.
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As has been noted, it's not
enough just to set up a plant.
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It's also necessary to
make sure that that plant
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can receive regular power,
has broadband access,
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that there are roads that allow
products that are manufactured
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here to be delivered
efficiently and effectively.
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And U.S. exporters are
very concerned about
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issues of IP protection.
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Increasingly, the United States
is a knowledge-based economy.
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We tend to operate at the higher
ends of the global value chain
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and, whether we're talking
about movies from Disney,
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and I was interested to find
out from Bob Iger at Disney
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that Disney's a major
investor in Bollywood,
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which is pretty exciting.
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But also what we hear from
software companies who are
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already doing significant
business, obviously,
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in India because there's
just incredible talent here,
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is that the absence of
effective IP protection makes
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U.S. companies hesitant
to invest more in India,
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but it also is stunting the
development of software
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innovation inside of India
because the sense is that it
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will not be adequately
protected and the returns
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won't be as high as if
that software development
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takes place outside.
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And it also has some
implications for
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cyber security issues.
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With respect to Indian
investors in the United States
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and Indian companies that
want to do more business
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in the United States,
several issues came up.
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There's still a great interest
in immigration reform.
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We didn't have a chance
to talk about that
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too much but I assure you
that despite the executive
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actions that I've taken, we
know it's not enough.
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We want to continue to
attract more high skilled
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workers to the United
States, more innovation
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in the United States.
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That requires an
active Congress.
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We have some outstanding
members of Congress here
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who are strong supporters
of immigration reform.
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And in the meantime
though, what we are doing
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is we're making it a lot
easier for entrepreneurs
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interested in investing
in the United States
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to be able to get the
visas that they need
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and we are very excited
about the work that can
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be done on that front.
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The issue of
totalization was raised.
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For those who aren't
familiar with this,
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this has to do with who
pays Social Security
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and how it's collected
and that's something that
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we are going to
continue to examine.
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And, as has been noted,
the possibility of us
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establishing a bilateral
investment treaty is one
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that would serve both
countries very well.
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Now I want to confess that
that will be a challenge
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to have a model BIT that meets
the fairly high standards
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that the United States
typically establishes
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in a BIT with some of
its trading partners.
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But the interest and the
potential is there and we're
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going to be interested in
exploring with all of you,
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and I think the point
that was made earlier
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about us consulting
with businesses as we
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are developing a possible
BIT so that we get
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firsthand from businesses
what is it that they
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need to see, I think, is
a very helpful suggestion.
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So, you know, the bottom line
is the goal on both sides
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is to slash red tape.
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I think both the Prime
Minister and myself have
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an interest in maintaining
smart regulations that protect
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the public health and
welfare of our people.
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You know, this may be sacrilege
among some of the business
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community, but I actually
think some regulation
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is good and important
and necessary.
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But what we don't want is
regulations that are not
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efficient, aren't smart,
are impeding innovation,
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and are impeding the kind
of growth that, ultimately,
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will benefit our people and our
goal should be recognizing
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that the United States and
India are at different
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stages of development.
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Both sides can do more and do
better to facilitate the kind
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of trading, investment, and
growth that will be good
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far into the future.
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And I'll just conclude
by saying that there
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is a natural convergence
between our two countries.
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Probably my favorite
comment was when I heard
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Mr. Birla talk about his
excellent experiences
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investing in the United
States and how easy
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it was, how accommodating
and interested U.S.
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companies and U.S.
officials were
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in making sure that he
felt at home there.
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I hope everybody
was listening --
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(laughter)
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-- with respect
to that testimony.
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But part of what this shows
is the incredible talent,
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the incredible business
talent that exists in India.
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And, obviously, the Indian
diaspora around the world
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has created incredible
companies, incredible
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networks, incredible value
wherever they go.
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And the question then
becomes, how do we tap
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that same potential in
a billion people here?
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And how can the United
States which, obviously,
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thrives on entrepreneurship
and innovation,
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how can we partner with you in
ways that make the world's
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two largest democracies also
the most vibrant economies
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in the world?
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So this has been
very exciting.
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I appreciate your
participation.
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We will take the
recommendations that
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have been made.
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We will set some
deadlines for action.
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We'll hold ourselves
accountable and, hopefully,
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the next time we have a meeting
we'll have a good report.
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Thank you very much.
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Male Speaker: Mr.
President, Mr. President.
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If I could, just to
correct the record --
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(applause)
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The President: Please.
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Male Speaker: Just to
correct the record,
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the first forum that
didn't accomplish much
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was 2005 to 2008.
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The second one --
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The President: (inaudible)
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Male Speaker: -- that got
a lot done was 2009 to 14.
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The President: That was mine.
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(laughter)
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That is a very
useful correction.
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(laughter)
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I hope the press
took note but --
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(laughter)
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-- thank you so much for
all of the outstanding work
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that's been done and,
Mr. Prime Minister,
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we look forward to doing
business with India.
