After two trade missions to India and the firstWashington State summit on the US-India Trade, the non-profit trade advocacy group, the Washington State and India Trade Relations Action CommitteeWASITRAC decided to refresh its mission reflecting the latest economic power shift in the global arena and the cultural and demographic shifts in the United States. Global economic opportunity has shifted drastically from most developed nations like Europe, Japan, Western Europe, and America, to countries like India, China, Malaysia and Indonesia. Today, China is the most obvious power on the rise. But it is not alone: India and other Asian countries now boast growth rates that could outstrip those of major Western countries for decades to come.
"It was inevitable," says Debadutta Dash, the Co-Chair of WASITRAC. "On one hand, we have huge demographic shift in the US with a big surge in the population of the Indian Diaspora; And on the other hand, India set to become a economic superpower in Asia after China and that too with 35 states speaking more than 20 unique languages and representing as many cultures, while being governed by scores of different political parties. You simply cannot adopt the same business strategy for any other country in the world and India, because of the vast ethnic diversity and the existence of many political parties in the country."
WASITRAC will focus on five Indian states - Assam in the Northeast, Odisha in the East, Andhra Pradesh in the South, Gujarat in the West and Punjab in the North. While Odisha was part of the original mission statement, the other four states are the recent additions with regard to their geographical significance and economic attributes to India. Giving reference to his recent interview with the Puget Sound Business Journal, a Seattle based business periodical, Dash emphasized that the bilateral economic opportunities between India and the Washington state are not confined only to IT and Tele-communication as strongly perceived for long.
"We see tremendous opportunities in the area of manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, tourism and convention, education, and infrastructure development. At the same time it is also a great opportunity for the successful Indian companies to invest in the US and expand their brand visibility in this fast changing global economy". "India will be a great strategic partner for the United States from all aspects of international understandings and the leaders of both the nations should sign a fair trade treaty which has been long overdue," Dash added.
WASITRAC facilitated two trade missions to India in 2010 and 2011 successively. The 2010 trade mission was led by Seattle Congressman Jim McDermott and Washington State Lt. Governor Brad Owen. North Seattle Community College signed MOUs with Kushagra Institute of Information and Management Science (KIIMS) and Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology University (KIIT University) in Odisha during 2010 mission. The Port of Seattle signed its centennial sister port agreement with Dhamra, a port in Odisha, a joint venture between Tata and L&T during the 2011 trade mission which was led by Port of Seattle CEO, Tay Yoshitani. Earlier in 2012 the University of Washington, Bothell Campus signed a MOU with KIIMS for international, educational and scientific co-operation. The First Washington State Summit on US-India Trade and Commerce was organized by WASITRAC at the Seattle Center as part of its Next 50 celebration last year in September.
While China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have already been among the top 10 trading partners of the United States with a population of more than 1 billion and being an emerging economy in today's world with a consistent 7% plus GDP growth rate for the last five years and a buoyant younger middle class of a size that is equal to the total US population, the volume of total US-India trade could easily be far better and much higher than what we have at present. With largest foreign office of Microsoft in Hyderabad, Boeing's existing presence in Nagpur, Starbucks entry to Indian market and a direct Emirates flight between Dubai and Seattle, the businesses and policymakers of the Washington State have all good reasons to tilt towards India for international trade and collaborations.