As I traveled with President Obama to India, one thing was abundantly clear: America makes what India's growing middle-class needs.
And U.S. companies must capitalize on the huge opportunities for sales in this fast-growing market if we want to jump-start our economy and create stable, durable American jobs back home.
To help accomplish this, hundreds of key American and Indian business leaders joined the President and senior administration officials in Mumbai for an unprecedented gathering. As part of these meetings, the Export-Import Bank of the United States signed a Memorandum of Understanding -- totaling more than $5 billion in financing support -- that will create or sustain approximately 22,000 American jobs, while not costing the American taxpayer a dime.
This MOU signals to American companies -- both large and small -- the tremendous opportunities available in this critical Asian market -- and it informs Indian companies that the credit is there to buy our products and services.
At Ex-Im Bank, we want U.S. companies to be as confident when selling their products in Mumbai as they are in Milwaukee, and as comfortable completing a transaction in Bangalore as in Boston. And we never want a lack of access to capital to prevent good American companies from making important export sales.
The MOU we signed will support Reliance Power's purchase of 8,000 megawatts of gas-fired power generating equipment, as well as 900 megawatts of renewable energy (solar and wind) generating equipment, from U.S. manufacturers and service providers.
Going forward, Ex-Im Bank also is exploring financing partnerships with SpiceJet as it considers its next round of aircraft purchases. These purchases will help enhance India's low-cost travel market, while supporting good American jobs.
As the world's fourth-wealthiest economy, and what one day could be the world's largest middle class, India faces an enormous need to upgrade its infrastructure, transportation sector and power plants.
In fact, India plans to spend $1 trillion on infrastructure projects between 2012 and 2017, doubling its investment rate to a projected seven-and-a-half percent of GDP.
India also plans to add 20,000 megawatts of solar power generation by the year 2020.
American companies -- and the products and services we create and provide -- are uniquely suited to assist in this enormous undertaking.
The reality is that there is no one who can match the quality, reliability and durability of American-made products, particularly our capital goods and services.
Made in the USA resonates around the world like it never has. Superior products, outstanding service: That is what I repeatedly hear when I am traveling abroad.
For example, in India, I heard from local companies who said that they prefer to do business with American companies. That we are more straightforward. That our terms are clear. And that there is transparency. That was not always the case, they said, when doing business with other countries.
The United States is the largest manufacturing country in the entire world. We make more goods than China or Germany. Yet, we are number three in exports. That is unacceptable.
We make the goods and we have to do a better job selling them. We cannot afford to let opportunities slip away in Asia or around the world.
And Ex-Im Bank is here to help ensure that the financing is in place to make these transactions happen.
We want to level the playing field for large U.S. companies as they compete against their foreign competitors -- to give them the edge they need in the global marketplace -- and we want to be sure that America's small businesses, the economic engine of our communities, have the peace of mind and security to sell their products and services abroad.
As we rebuild the foundation of our economy, exports of American-made products represent one of the most important components for future stability -- and one of the most immediate areas for potential GDP growth. We can no longer simply rely on the U.S. consumer to support our businesses or the global economy. We must look more aggressively to export markets where a growing middle class is demanding the products America makes.
That is why I am currently en route to South Africa, another key market for American exporters -- and a country where Ex-Im is set to announce exciting new transactions that will support American companies and sustain tens of thousands of jobs across the United States.
Richard Grenell: Japan Deserves a UN Permanent Seat Before India
Well here it is anyways.
Divest yourself of anything connected to Wall Street and Big Banks, then take your money while its still worth the paper it is printed on and form a family or family and friends Farm cooperative.
Insulate yourself from the bad parts of the American Economy, because the future isn't looking good and won't look good for a very, very, long time. I really don't care what the Sunshine Banker man says.
The US is hopelessly dependent on global Oil production which by all measurable standards has peaked, the effects of this peak should be readily manifested with the current decade.
The global financial powers know this and have no intentions of reviving the American middle class with its voracious appetite for Oil. Instead the plan is to slowly kill the middle class off completely.
To invest in America means that 10 to 20 years down the road you will be reaping a payoff, and in less than 10 years Oil shock will make business in America all but viable.
"India’s Cotton Export Policies Under Fire By Global Textile Organizations"
Textile organizations in the United States, European Union (EU), Mexico and Turkey have sent a joint letter to their respective governments urging immediate action to halt cotton trade restrictions by the government of India.
Together, the organizations represent more than 1 million textile workers, whose jobs could be threatened by what the groups contend are discriminatory and illegal actions by India -- the world's second-largest cotton exporter -- to restrict or ban cotton exports in an effort to protect its domestic textile industry. The groups note that the actions, imposed in April 2010, have caused global cotton prices to surge from 62 cents per pound to $1.20 per pound, while India has guaranteed low prices for cotton consumed by its own textile mills. They further note that resulting price inequities are skewing competition in favor of not only Indian textile and apparel producers -- which are able to offer their products at subsidized prices -- but also Chinese state-owned textile mills -- which are purchasing the remaining global supply at the high prices demanded while also enjoying government subsidies that allow "enormous price flexibility."
To put this in perspective in 2003 the U.S. had 850,000 working in textiles, today 7 years later that number is less than 250,000 workers!
What they want the other 250,000? Where is our government? What are they doing about this?
operations to India are going to employ Americans in America, and
pay a living wage. Isn't that why they are going there, to save operating
costs and increase profit?
But the article does not address many things:
1) According to World Transparency Org, India is even more corrupt than China. It's takes a lot of time and money to get things done there.
2) India lacks the infrastructure to do serious business. Even if a US company develops a very nice product which every indian loves, it will take a lot of effort to simply ship these items and distribute to all of the Indian people.
3) India politicians lack the unity and the ability to execute efficiently. If anything, the execution of the Commonwealth games shows that Indian government is not ready for major projects because even if money is there they can't get things done on time.
Until India over comes these challenges it will never be a major market of goods.
Here is the link to the report :
http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2010/results
Huffpo had an article on this but I could not find it.
1.2+ billion people do not exist by just breathing air, don't you agree? There have been major business houses in India that exist now, and new ones that are being created. Indian Railways and bus/trucking services reach almost all corners of the country. Are these on par with Western Standards, definitely not. But they do their job, should they be improved. Definitely yes.
But to say India has corruption or lacks infrastructure and hence not a suitable market is a way to lose market. Good businesses use opportunities to make money.
The conventional wisdom of fixing our trade imbalances is to increase export but we don't have sufficient export capacity to achieve that and the rest of the world is not in the mood to import more from us than they export to us. The only way to fix our trade imbalances is to make more of what we consume right here. As a result of this we would also increase our exports simply because we would once again be making things. And the first step in this process is to stop exporting our jobs!
As long as we allow for corporations to fashion our economic and trade policies we will get more of the same results and the same propagandist rationalizations.
In a BBC interview with G.E. CEO Jeff Immelt, the reporter asks this question:
"Is there any way of Britain and America fighting back without an extended period of millions and millions of British and Americans effectively being poorer as we make this adjustment?"
The answer is all too clear:
www.massachusettsobserver.blogspot.com/2010/11/connect-dots.html
Open it up for Indian Investors (linked with non-voting resident visas for say 99 years) and you will see a gold rush..
I know of people who are selling apartments in Delhi and are investing in US real estate..
Indian real estate prices have become scary..
In a country of 1.2 billion people, fully 1/3rd, or 400 million people, live in absolute, complete, unbelievable poverty. To put that number into perspective, 400 million people is more than the combined populations of Canada and the United States, and the Indian political and business leaders believe that having that many of their own citizens in that condition is essential for their continued economic "success" as a nation.
Any nation which defines success in such a way that the bottom 1/3rd of their people are abandoned in every measurable way, is morally bankrupt. For myself, I much prefer the Scandinavian economic models of working to improve the lot of all citizens, even if that is what the Republicans call Socialism.
About the extreme poverty in India, it is a consequence of being a colony for hundreds of years. The initial conditions that India started out with 60 years ago (with the %age of people below poverty line) are the reason behind.
Didn't Charles Dickens say something about "the insects on the leaf pronouncing judgment upon their brethren in the dust?"
It seemed that state was doing very well wrt storing food, less chaotic, more organized, etc. As an outsider, it seemed obvious that the Sikhs are doing something that would benefit the rest of India if it were applied elsewhere.