US eyes Indian markets: Obama

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has said the US will explore ways to reduce barriers to its exports and increase access to the Indian market as the country needs to find new customers in new markets for American-made goods.

In a signed article in the New York Times, Obama said the US wants “to be known not just for what we consume, but for what we produce. And the more we export abroad, the more jobs we create in America. In fact, every $1 billion we export supports more than 5,000 jobs at home”.

Obama, along with wife Michelle and top officials, arrives in India Saturday on a four-day trip. On Sunday, he will reach New Delhi where he has a string of engagements. He leaves for Indonesia Tuesday. The other countries on his itinerary are South Korea and Japan.

Obama says in the daily that he has set a goal of “doubling America’s exports in the next five years”.

“To do that, we need to find new customers in new markets for American-made goods. And some of the fastest-growing markets in the world are in Asia, where I’m travelling this week.

“It is hard to overstate the importance of Asia to our economic future. Asia is home to three of the world’s five largest economies, as well as a rapidly expanding middle class with rising incomes. My trip will therefore take me to four Asian democracies - India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan - each of which is an important partner for the United States.”

He said: “During my first visit to India, I will be joined by hundreds of American business leaders and their Indian counterparts to announce concrete progress toward our export goal - billions of dollars in contracts that will support tens of thousands of American jobs.”

“We will also explore ways to reduce barriers to United States exports and increase access to the Indian market.”

The article titled “Exporting our way to stability” added: “Our government, together with American businesses and workers, must take steps to promote and sell our goods and services abroad - particularly in Asia. That’s how we’ll create jobs, prosperity and an economy that’s built on a stronger foundation.”

He went on to say that as the country “recovers from this recession, the biggest mistake we could make would be to rebuild our economy on the same pile of debt or the paper profits of financial speculation”.

“We need to rebuild on a new, stronger foundation for economic growth. And part of that foundation involves doing what Americans have always done best: discovering, creating and building products that are sold all over the world.”

The US president pointed out that the “great challenge of our time is to make sure that America is ready to compete for the jobs and industries of the future”.

“It can be tempting, in times of economic difficulty, to turn inward, away from trade and commerce with other nations. But in our interconnected world, that is not a path to growth, and that is not a path to jobs. We cannot be shut out of these markets.”