Lavin to lead largest biz team to India

MORE than a month after he made news with his letter written to the Indian Government urging that the soft drink giants Pepsi and Coca Cola be given a level playing field in the country, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Franklin L. Lavin is back in the headlines. He would lead the largest ever US trade delegation to India in November.

Lavin had written to the government, in the wake of the findings by Centre for Science Environment that the soft drinks from Pepsi and Coca Cola contained pesticides above the permissible limit.

It should be no surprise that this is an unprecedented trade mission because India at the moment is undergoing unprecedented growth, said Lavin at a press conference at New York Foreign Press Center last week.

So far 54 US companies have applied to the International Trade Administration, while more are expected to join in the coming weeks. Giving details of the mission, he said the small to mediumsized companies, which have submitted applications represent a wide cross-section of US businesses geographically and tradewise. Most of these include plastic mould manufacturers, medical equipment manufacturers, food and beverage providers, and insurance companies.

Lavin said as a corollary to the visit of President Bush to India early this year, trade relationship between the two countries have taken an altogether new turn. India’s economy is booming. The time is right for US companies to figure out how they can fit into the picture, Lavin said.

Lavin said, India is one of the few countries in the world with which the US shares sub-cabinet commercial dialogue. The US also has sub-cabinet level commercial dialogues with Brazil, China, the European Union and NAFTA partners Canada and Mexico.