US trade rep Kirk keen on bilateral tie-ups

Ahead of the India-US Trade Policy Forum on Monday, visiting United States trade representative Ron Kirk, said his country will push for a rigorous bilateral investment treaty between the two countries.

This, he said, was bound to promote reciprocal investment flows and lay a solid foundation for a ''robust relationship'', he told newspersons in New Delhi.

Dismissing the allegation that the Obama administration is more protectionist than earlier ones, Kirk quipped, ''What you do is more powerful than what you say. But in the global world, I have to say, what we do is more powerful than what other people say.''

He recalled US president Barack Obama's statements that the US will not step back from its commitment to free and fair trade, and pointed out that major trade agreements signed with India in the last 40 years were all done during the Democratic governments of Kennedy and Clinton.

Kirk, who will meet his Indian counterpart commerce and industry Minister Anand Sharma, is also likely to discuss the proposed bilateral investment treaty with him.

Established in July 2005, it TPF is an arrangement between the US and India to discuss trade and investment issues and government policies in this regard.