Trump admin urges US defence firms to tap India’s expanding military market

The Trump administration is encouraging the country’s strong defence industry to target India, which presents a lucrative market for foreign defence manufacturers.

“As one of the largest importers of defence equipment, India presents a lucrative market for foreign defence manufacturers, importing around 60 per cent of its defence requirements,” the US Department of Commerce said in a communication to the American defence industry.

India boasts the world's third-largest armed forces and plans to invest billions in defence acquisitions over the next few years, said the Department of Commerce as it sent an invitation to them to attend a webinar to find out more about the aerospace and defence market in India as well as the Aerospace and Defense Meetings (ADM) Chennai show.

The US-India defence relationship is a cornerstone of their strategic partnership, driving the bilateral relationship forward. A significant milestone was reached in 2018 when the Department of Commerce granted India Tier 1 Strategic Trade Authorisation (STA-1) status, facilitating the export of US products to India, it said.

“US products enjoy a favourable reputation in India, thanks to the strong connections between the people of the two democracies and the rich government-to-government relationship. This trust in US products creates a promising environment for collaboration,” the communication said.

Organised by the Government of Tamil Nadu, the Aerospace and Defence Meetings in Chennai is scheduled for October 7-9 this year. It is a B2B event connecting vetted suppliers and OEMs in the aerospace, defence, space, and naval sectors.

“This event offers US companies a platform to target key supply chain, product development, and procurement teams from top Indian aerospace and defence players,” the Department of Commerce said.

(Courtesy: www.5wh.com)