Letter to the Hon. Donald Trump, President of the United States - Bipartisan Congressional Group Sends Letter to President Trump in Advance of Meeting with India Prime Minister Modi

Letter

Dear Mr. President:

As you prepare for your upcoming meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 Summit, we write to highlight the continuing strategic importance of the U.S.-India relationship. We urge you to reinforce the value this relationship brings to the United States, India, and the world at large and to find opportunities for greater collaboration across all elements of our partnership.

Over the past fifteen years, the relationship between the United States and India has made tremendous strides. First and foremost, our relationship is founded upon our shared values. The United States is the world's oldest democracy and, as its recent election dramatically illustrated, India is the world's largest democracy. These shared values -- of government by the people and for the people -- are particularly important as the United States and India work with other partners to combat rising authoritarianism across the region.

The progress the United States and India have made over the past fifteen years has been driven by our shared strategic interests. Our two countries are champions of the free and open Indo-Pacific. India was also designated as the United States' only Major Defense Partner in 2016, which has facilitated defense trade and technology sharing between our two countries. The United States has now sold an estimated $18 billion in defense goods to India, with the great majority of those sales coming in the past decade. And recently, our two countries signed a major defense agreement, entitled the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement to facilitate interoperability and real-time secure information sharing between our militaries. Our two countries collaborate on a range of shared security priorities including maritime security, counter-piracy, counterterrorism, and cybersecurity.

We understand that trade relations between the United States and India have experienced significant tensions in recent years, with the recent revocation of a trade preference program by the United States and the imposition of retaliatory tariffs by the Indian government on a range of U.S. imports. These challenges, among other trade disagreements, including over data localization, price controls, and e-commerce demand sustained attention and dialogue given the importance of each country to the other's economic success. For India, the United States is their second largest export market. India is the United States' ninth largest trading partner and has invested nearly $10B in the United States in 2017 -- an increase of more than 11 percent since 2016. While our economic relationship may have its ups and downs, it delivers countless jobs and benefits to our two countries. With India's large youth population, and steady economic growth, these benefits promise to only accelerate in the coming years.

Over the course of the past three U.S. administrations, the United States and India have built a close and enduring relationship. Our nations share a commitment to democratic values, shared economic interests, and convering strategic goals. We hope that you will continue to strengthen this partnership as you meet with Prime Minister Modi at the G20.

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