The annual AMCHAM India door knock delegation to Washington DC was led by AMCHAM’s Chairman, Mr. Krish Iyer, President & CEO, Walmart India, from June 17^th – 21^st, 2018. The main purpose of the door knock was to inform and sensitize U.S. policy-makers and Law Makers on issues impacting operations of US Companies  in India. The delegation interacted with many of the important players in the economic relationship and other key decision-makers.

This year, AMCHAM, with knowledge partner KPMG in India, published The U.S. – India Dynamic – Prospering Together, a knowledge document to leave behind with U.S. government officials during the door knock. The document provided an industry perspective on India’s economy, the U.S. – India dynamic and highlights some of the key industry related challenges faced by U.S. companies operating in India across sectors.

The topics of discussions with government officials included:

• U.S – India Defense partnership
• Potential for a Congressional study group on India
• Recognition and appreciation for ease of doing business reforms in India
• GSP review process
• Threats to U.S. national security from the S-400 air defense system deal
• Potential ramifications of CAATSA (Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act)
• Data localization requirements
• Cloud Act
• Testing requirements on imported electronic products in India
• Balance of power concerning China
• How to decrease the trade deficit
• Tariffs on IT and price controls on medical devices
• U.S. – India ICT Dialogue
• India’s

On Sunday evening, June 17^th, the delegation met for an informal internal briefing and was joined by Mr. Patrick Santillo, Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs, U.S. Embassy, who provided insights on the history of the U.S. – India economic relationship.

On Monday 18^th June, the door knock officially began with an interactive session with Mr. Chris Padilla, Vice President, IBM Government and Regulatory Affairs, hosted at the IBM office. This was followed by an interaction with India experts from think tanks, in partnership with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Some of the participants in the discussion included Mr. Kartikeya Singh, Deputy Director & Fellow, Wadhwani Chair in U.S. – India Policy Studies, CSIS, Mr. Ray Vickery, Senior Associate, CSIS, Ms. Cara Abercrombie, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Mr. Sadanand Dhume, American Enterprise Institute, Mr. Sanjeev Joshipura, Indiaspora, Mr. Ramki Krishnan, India Rapid Reaction Cell, U.S. Department of Defense, Mr. Irfan Nooruddin, Georgetown University India Initiative, Mr. Travis Coberly, U.S. State Department, Ms. Noor Sclafani, U.S. Department of Commerce and Ms. Caitlin Brophy, East-West Center, among others.

The delegation met with Ambassador Jeff Gerrish, Deputy United States Trade Representative, who was joined by Ms. Rachel Morris, Senior Advisor to the Deputy United States Trade Representative, Mr. Mark Linscott, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for South and Central Asian Affairs, and Mr. Brendan Lynch, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for South and Central Asia. Next, the delegation met with Mr. Gilbert Kaplan, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, U.S. Department of Commerce and Ms. Diane Farrell, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia, U.S. Department of Commerce. The day concluded with an interaction with Mr. Thomas Hardy, Director, USTDA, Ms. Verinda Fike, Regional Director for South and Southeast Asia, Global Aviation Sector Team Lead, USTDA and Ms. Dianne Quebral, Director of Public Engagement, USTDA.

On Tuesday June 19^th the delegation went to the Pentagon for a meeting with Lt. Gen. Jerry Harris, Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Requirements, Headquarters U.S. Air Force. Later there was a meeting with Representative Ami Bera (D-CA). Then the delegates headed to the State Department for a meeting with Ambassador Tina Kaidanow, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, who was joined by Mr. Lee Litzenberger, Senior Advisor, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, U.S. Department of State and Ms. Laura Till, Asia Team Lead, Office of Regional Security and Arms Transfer. The next meeting was with Mr. Tom Vajda, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for South Asia, U.S. Department of State and his colleagues. The delegation met with Mr. John Sullivan, Deputy Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State. The final meeting for the day was with the following officials from the State Department’ Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs: Mr. Steve Lang, Deputy U.S. Coordinator for International Communications & Information Policy, Ms. Ruth Berry, Deputy Director for Bilateral & Regional Affairs, International Communications & Information Policy and Mr. Alex Greenstein, Senior Advisor, International Communications & Information Policy.

On the morning of Wednesday, June 20^th, the delegation went to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building of the White House for a meeting with Mr. Vishal Amin, Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, Executive Office of the President. This was followed by another meeting at the Pentagon with Ms. Heidi Grant, Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force, International Affairs, U.S. Air Force. Part of the delegation met with Representative Vicky Hartzler (R-MO). The day concluded with a meeting at the Embassy of India with Ambassador Santosh Jha, Deputy Chief of Mission, Mr. Puneet Kundal, Minister – Commerce, Mr. Arunish Chawla, Minister – Economic and Mr. Nilkanth Avhad, Counsellor – Economic.

The delegation met with Ms. Caroline Wadhams, Senior Policy Advisor, National Security and Veterans’ Affairs from Senator Mark Warner’s office, followed by a meeting with Mr. Larry Calhoun, Chief of Staff for Representative Ted Yoho and Mr. Hunter Strupp, Staff Director, Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, Committee on Foreign Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives. The delegation met with Representative Henry Cuellar (R-TX) and his staff. From the office of Representative George Holding (R-NC), Co-Chair, Congressional India Caucus, the delegation met with Mr. Curtis Rhyne, Deputy Chief of Staff/Legislative Director. Next the group met with Mr. Everett Eissenstat, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council, Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs, The White House, who was joined by his colleagues Mr. Clete Willems, Special Assistant to the President for International Trade, Investment and Development and Mr. Andrew Rollo, Director for International Trade and Investment, National Security Council. The door knock officially concluded after a meeting with Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL).

AMCHAM India Door Knock Delegation 2018

• Krish Iyer, President & CEO, Walmart India (Chairperson, AMCHAM)
• Kaku Nakhate, President & Country Head (India), Bank of America N.A. (Vice Chairperson, AMCHAM)
• Pratyush Kumar, President, Boeing India (Past Chairman, AMCHAM)
• Phil Shaw, Chief Executive, Lockheed Martin India (National Executive Board Member, AMCHAM)
• Palash Roy Chowdhury, Managing Director – Pratt & Whitney, United Technologies Corporation India (National Executive Board Member, AMCHAM)
• Nikhil Khanna, Managing Director, BAE Systems India (Services) Pvt. Ltd. (Co-Chair – Defense Committee, AMCHAM)
• Vivek Vasishtha, Executive Director and Country Leader – Government and Regulatory Affairs, IBM India Pvt. Ltd.  (Co-Chair – ICT Committee, AMCHAM)
• Abby Pratt, Vice President, Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed)
• Bradley Schoener, VP of Innovation, Association for the Advancement of Medical Instruments (AAMI)
• Neal R. Montour, SVP Growth & Strategy, Belcan LLC
• Rebecca Karnak, Sr. Director, Global Public Policy, Dell
• Lisa Schroeter, Global Director of Trade and Investment Policy, The Dow Chemical Company
• Prateeksha Sharma, Manager – Public Policy and Government Affairs, Dow Chemical International Pvt. Ltd.
• Barry Liden, Vice President, Government Affairs, Edwards Lifesciences
• Pradeep Udhas, Office Managing Partner – West, KPMG in India
• Harold Chase, Legislative Director, NSF International
• C. Sampathkumar, Director, PAR Formulations Pvt. Ltd.
• Samit Ray, Director Government Affairs & Public Policy, United Technologies Corporation India
• Ranjana Khanna, Director General CEO, AMCHAM India
• Valerie Swope, Program Coordinator, AMCHAM India
• Tanya Paul, Communication Director, AMCHAM India