US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Thursday that India and the US are working together and formal discussions will be held for cooperation on the issue of semiconductors.
He said the US is working closely with its allies, including Europe and India, to avoid a subsidy race in the semiconductor sector.
In view of the global crisis of semiconductor chip, all the countries of the world are engaged in the exercise of creating a reliable supply chain, so that its supply remains unaffected by disruptions like pandemic or geopolitical tension. For example, last year the US signed the Chips Asst to strengthen domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
Similarly, in December 2021, India announced a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme to develop the semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem.
Asked about cooperation in the semiconductor sector, the US Commerce Secretary said that India and the US would have formal discussions on this sector.
He said, ‘I am working on this with my counterpart (Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal). Tomorrow there are official meetings of the CEO Forum and commercial dialogue and we will be talking big on semiconductors. There will be a formal discussion from the US government and the Indian government. He said that there is synergy between India and the US on semiconductor design and technology.
Raimondo said the US and the world depend heavily on Taiwan for semiconductors and there is a “willingness to work closely with our partners, including India” in the region. He also said that there are huge opportunities in both the countries to increase trade and investment.
Raimondo said no free trade agreement (FTA) with India is currently under discussion and the US Congress has said it is in no hurry for an FTA. “I expect IPEF to prove to be more economically effective than FTA in many ways,” he said. He said that this framework would be similar to a modern trade agreement. He said that IPEF would help more in job creation than traditional FTA between the two countries.
