The annual AMCHAM India door knock delegation to Washington DC was led by AMCHAM’s Chairman, Mr. Salil Gupte, President, Boeing India and South Asia, from June 8^th – 11^th, 2026. The main purpose of the door knock was to inform U.S. policymakers on issues impacting U.S. investments in India. AMCHAM India’s door knock whitepaper provided an industry perspective on sector wise opportunities and challenges for U.S industry operating in India.

The delegation met with over 24 departments/offices which included 9 Senators and Representatives (and their staff), in addition to meetings with think tanks and India experts that shared their views on the bilateral relationship in the current geopolitical scenario.

The main topics of discussions with government officials included:

• U.S.-India TRUST (Transforming the Relationship Utilizing Strategic Technology) initiative
• Mission 500 trade
• Interim framework for the first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement (BTA)
• Supply chain diversification
• India’s digital public infrastructure
• Data centers
• Digital sovereignty challenges in technological hardware, regulation, and AI
• Reducing dependence on China
• Cyber security and digital tech collaboration
• Opportunities in co-production and co-development
• Security in the Indo-Pacific
• Regulatory harmonization in pharmaceuticals and medical devices
• Data protection
• MRO (maintenance and repair overhaul) opportunities
• Various defense deals
• Undersea cables
• Rare earth mineral collaboration in the QUAD
• Compliance burden in the financial services sector
• Healthcare innovation

On Monday morning, June 8th, the door knock officially kicked off with an informal internal briefing followed by a roundtable with India experts from think tanks, hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), led by Mr. Rick Rossow, Senior Adviser and Chair on India and Emerging Asia Economics, CSIS with the following participants: Mr. Atman Trivedi, Albright Stonebridge Group, Ms. Trisha Ray, Atlantic Council, Ms. Tanvi Madan, Brookings Institution, Mr. Keerthi Martyn, Center for a New American Security (CNAS), Mr. Shashwat Kumar, CSIS, Mr. Gaurav Sansanwal, CSIS, Mr. Aryan D’Rozario, CSIS, Mr. Abhinav Subramaniam, CSIS, Mr. Kumar Deep, ITI Council, Mr. Pravin Krishna, Johns Hopkins SAIS, Ms. Shayerah Akhtar, Library of Congress, Mr. Siddharth Sharma, McLarty Associates, Ms. Mona Dave, National Endowment for Democracy, Ms. Elizabeth Threlkeld, Stimson Center, Mr. Basant Sanghera, The Asia Group, and Ms. Ananya Chhaochharia, The Asia Group.

Next the defense sector delegates met with Mr. Michael J. Vaccaro, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Mr. Sho J. Morimoto, Division Chief (Sea, Land, and Air Systems), Office of Defense Trade Controls Licensing, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, and Mr. Andrew Kalaris, Asia Team Lead, Office of Regional Security and Arms Transfers. The delegation met with Representative Rich McCormick (R-GA-07), Co-Chair Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans and Mr. Ayush Nallapally, Legislative Aide. At the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the part of the delegation met Ms. Allison Iannarino, Managing Director, Office of Foreign Policy, DFC and Ms. Sandra Guzman, Director, South and Central Asia, Office of Foreign Policy, DFC. The aviation delegates met with Ms. Rebecca Cointin, Acting Assistant Administrator for Policy and Strategic Engagement, Federation Aviation Administration (FAA), Mr. David S. Burkholder, Deputy Executive Director, International Affairs, Mr. Riley Downing, Manager, Asia Pacific International Affairs and Ms. Andrea Deitz, Foreign Affairs Specialist, Asia Pacific, Office of International Affairs.

On Tuesday morning, June 9^th, the defense delegates met Mr. William W. Carty, Executive Director, Navy International Programs Office (NIPO), Office of the Secretary of the Navy, U.S. Department of War, Mr. J. Mario Miranda, Director of Technology, Security and Cooperative Programs, NIPO, Cdr Arwyn Becker, Strategic Integrator, NIPO, and Cdr Jun Chen, India Country Program Director, NIPO, while the rest of the delegation met Senator Steve Daines (R-MT), Mr. Chris Anderson, National Security Adviser and Mr. Gaden James, Foreign Policy Aide, on the Hill. Next the delegation went to the U.S. Department of Commerce for an interaction with Mr. Hiro Rodriguez, Executive Director, Advocacy Center, Mr. Jon Fay, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia, GM Asia, Mr. Christopher Ashe, Director for South Asia, GM Asia, Mr. Jason Evans, Team Lead (Acting), Indo-Pacific Region, Advocacy Center, Ms. Stephanie Merchant, International Trade Specialist, Office of Aerospace and Defense, Ms. Lauren Molina, Data Center Industry Specialist, Office of Information & Communication Technologies (OICT), Ms. Oryza Astari, International Trade Analyst, OICT, Ms. Galen Shen, International Trade Analyst, Office of Financial Services, Mr. Scott Schmith, International Trade Analyst, Office of Financial Services, Ms. Jessica Roop, Office of Standards and Intellectual Property, Mr. Jonathan Garon, Acting Team Lead, Office of Health Industries, and Mr. Michael Finn, International Trade Analyst, Office of Health Industries.

In the afternoon the defense delegates met Mr. Michael Laychak, Director for the Defense Technology Security Administration (DTSA), U.S. Department of War. On Capitol Hill the delegation met Representative Tom Suozzi (D-NY-03), Vice Co-Chair Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans and Ms. Tejkaran Kaur Bains, Legislative Assistant, followed by a meeting with Representative Rob Wittman (R-VA-01), Co-Chair, Congressional Study Group on India and Mr. Braedon Wong, Defense Fellow. The delegation wrapped up the day with an interaction with Mr. Brendan Lynch, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for South and Central Asia and Ms. Emily Ashby, Director, South and Central Asia, USTR.

On Wednesday morning, June 10^th, the delegation met Representative Adam Smith (D-WA-09), Ranking Member, House Armed Services Committee and Mr. Cameron M. Clark, Defense Fellow. This was followed by a roundtable session with experts at The Heritage Foundation: Mr. Jeff Smith, Director, Asian Studies Center, Mr. Andrew Harding, Policy Analyst for National Security and Indo-Pacific Affairs, Mr. Edward Owen, Senior Policy Analyst, Asian Studies Center, Ms. Kriti Upadhyaya, Visiting Fellow, India Policy, Asian Studies Center, and Mr. Jordan Embree, Research Associate, Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom. At the U.S. Department of State, the delegation met with Mr. Russ Headlee, Senior Bureau Official, Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, Mr. Justin Fair, Director, Office of Multilateral Affairs, Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, and Ms. Marissa Morales, India Desk Officer (Contractor).

In the afternoon defense delegates met Mr. Steve Derscheid, Chief of Staff, Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) followed by a meeting with Mr. Michael L. Prater, Director of International Acquisition, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Defense Exports and Cooperation ASA (ALT). The delegation interacted with Mr. Thomas Hardy, Deputy Director / Chief Operating Officer, U.S. Trade and Development Agency, Ms. Verinda Fike, Regional Director, Indo-Pacific, USTDA, and Ms. Danielle Agress, Senior Country Manager, Indo-Pacific, USTDA. The day concluded with a meeting with Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mr. Rob Nelson, National Security Advisor and Mr. Jeffrey Nowill, Senior Counsel.

On Thursday, June 11^th, the delegation began the morning on the Hill meeting Representative Deborah Ross (D-NC-02) Co-Chair, Congressional Study Group on India and Mr. Puj Adusumilli, Legislative Director, then Representative Ami Bera (D-CA-06) and Ms. Emma Bruce, Democratic Staff Director for the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific, and finally Representative Joe Wilson (R-SC-02) and Mr. Michael MacHarg III, Policy Advisor & Deputy Communications Director. Defense delegates met Mr. Raphael Carland, Director, Office of Regional Security and Arms Transfers, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, U.S. Department of State and Mr. Robert Thompson, Foreign Affairs Officer, Office of Regional Security and Arms Transfers, South Asia Portfolio, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. The full delegation met Ms. Bethany Morrison, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Ms. Jennifer Miller, Senior Advisor for Commercial Diplomacy, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Ms. Amy Eagleburger, Economic Unit Chief, Office of India and Bhutan and Ms. Shireen Singh. The door knock concluded at the Embassy of India with an interaction with Ambassador Vinay Kwatra and Dr. Ajay Kumar, Minister Commerce, Embassy of India.

Door Knock Delegation 2026

1. Mr. Salil Gupte, President, Boeing India & South Asia (Chairman, AMCHAM)
2. Mr. Ashish Saraf, VP & Country Head, Pratt & Whitney India, United Technologies Corporation India Pvt. Ltd. (National Executive Board Member, AMCHAM)
3. Mr. Alay Parikh, Vice President – South Asia, International Business Development, Boeing India Defense Pvt. Ltd. (Co-Chairman – Defense Committee, AMCHAM)
4. Mr. William Blair, Regional Chief Executive, Asia & India, Lockheed Martin Global, Inc.
5. Mr. Bharat Kumar Reddy, Chief Representative, J.P. Morgan
6. Ms. Erum Jilani, Director Asia Pacific, RTX Global Government Relations, RTX
7. Mr. Abhishek Lahiri, Vice President & Head, Government Affairs – South Asia, Mastercard
8. Mr. Tabrez Ahmad, Group Director GA, Asia Pacific and Japan, Dell Technologies
9. Mr. Rajesh Ranjan, India Lead – Core Government Affairs and Public Policy, Google
10. Ms. Shilpa Gupta, Associate Vice President – Corporate Affairs, One India, Eli Lilly and Company (India) Pvt. Ltd.
11. Mr. Naveen Rai, Director & Head – Government Affairs & Policy, India & South Asia, GE Healthcare
12. Ms. Dipakshi Mehandru, Director – Government Affairs, Intel
13. Ms. Urmi Tat, Manager, Public Policy and Government Affairs, South Asia, Salesforce
14. Ms. Priya Tiwari, Manager, Amazon Web Services
15. Ms. Ranjana Khanna, Director General CEO, AMCHAM India
16. Ms. Valerie Swope, Program Coordinator, AMCHAM India
17. Wg Cdr Rajiv Anand, Senior Director, AMCHAM India
18. Ms. Komple Sharma, Director, AMCHAM India