India-US Trade Ties Not Flat as ‘Chapati' But Puffed Up Like ‘Big Puri’: US

India and United States’ trade relations are not as “flat as a chapati,” but It has become “big and puffed up like a big puri,” US Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey R. Pyatt said on Monday whilst speaking about the strengthening trade ties between the two nations. Pyatt emphasised on the myriad of the Foreign Trade Agreements (FTAs) inked between the two nations. The US Secretary of State for Energy Resources hailed the trade and investment ties, the key aspect of US-India bilateral relations.

"Nobody today characterises their trade relationship as flat as a 'chapati'. It has become big and puffed up like a big ‘puri.’ I think we are not currently involved in any kind of a Free Trade Agreement negotiation with India, but we have ongoing and important negotiations about how to facilitate a further deepening of our trade relationship,” Pyatt said, according to ANI.

#WATCH | On Foreign Trade Agreements between US and India, US Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey R. Pyatt says, "Nobody today characterises their trade relationship as flat as a 'chapati'. It has become big and puffed up like a big 'puri'... I think we are not… pic.twitter.com/Gf5Tw7o8Ee

— ANI (@ANI)  

Nuclear partnership ‘an important piece of unfinished business’

Pyatt acknowledged that the status of civil nuclear partnership between the two nations is “an important piece of unfinished business,” as he addressed the reporters here New Delhi on issues of energy and energy security. “A lot of conversation we have at the US-India forums on the issues…in fact, corporates have shown interest in small modular reactors,” he said. The latter emphasised that the Indian giants such as Adani group, Tata, Reliance have all shown immense interest in furthering trade relations with American firms. “But companies need to figure out how to scale the SMR deployments,” he added. “Also, for India there is a need for revision of law for private participation,” Pyatt said.

While he compared India-US trade to “puffed up puri,” Pyatt said that he has been at forefront in discussing with the various stakeholders the deals with respect to energy sector. He emphasised that both US and India have long been reliant on Chinese technology in the green energy space, but are willing to make reforms in energy transition. The Biden administration is focussed on energy partnership with India, he informed, adding that an example for this is critical minerals talks on clean energy. “The two countries are looking for better collaboration in technology…A lot of innovation yet to come,”  he noted.