Explores export opportunities for U.S. aerospace companies, participates in Aero India 2011 U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke arrived in Bangalore today for the second stop of his high-technology business development trade mission to India. Locke is joined by a U.S. delegation of 24 businesses seeking to promote exports of leading U.S. technologies and services related to civil nuclear energy, civil aviation, defense and homeland security, and information and communications technology.
Locke’s first stop on his visit was Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.’s (HAL) facilities. HAL is one of Asia’s largest aerospace companies, employing approximately 34,000 people with roughly $2 billion in annual revenue. The company has partnered with leading U.S. aerospace manufacturers – Boeing, Honeywell, and Lockheed Martin – on several projects. The U.S export content value for HAL is $40 to $50 million dollars annually with hundreds of millions in future export opportunities.
“HAL’s supplier and partnership arrangements with U.S. companies are producing tangible benefits for both our economies by generating greater industrial cooperation and commercial commitments, technology sharing, and high-value jobs in both countries,” Locke said.
Later in the day, Locke participated in an Aero India 2011 press conference with U.S. Ambassador Timothy Roemer, and met with American Chamber of Commerce and U.S. India Business Council delegates. U.S. participation in Aero India is the largest to date with over 40 U.S. companies.
The pace of trade between the United States and India is accelerating. Between 2002 and 2009, U.S. goods exports to India quadrupled, growing from $4.1 billion to more than $16.4 billion. Through the first eleven months of 2010, U.S. merchandise exports to India totaled $17.6 billion, up 17 percent from the same period in 2009. With economic growth estimates at about 9.7 percent in 2010, India is a key market for the Obama administration’s National Export Initiative, which aims to double U.S. exports in five years.
Visit the Commerce Department’s India trade mission website at http://trade.gov/indiamission2011/index.asp for updates on the trade mission.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce
