Obama Reveals $10 Billion Export Deal in India
The LA Times reports:
President Obama on Saturday announced a loosening of U.S. restrictions in trade with India and unveiled almost $10 billion in export deals he said could lead to 50,000 American jobs, as he moved quickly to show a laser-like focus on the economy after a bruising midterm election.
Although many of the agreements, including the sale of Boeing aircraft and General Electric turbines, have been in discussion for some time, Obama held up the deals as examples of the great potential for expanding trade and commercial links between the world's two largest democracies.
But as he launched a 10-day, four-nation Asia tour aimed at opening up foreign markets for U.S. goods, the president's remarks pointed up the challenges he faces trying to craft a vision for the global economy that will be palatable to both Americans and export-driven Asian economies.
Obama's task has been complicated by America's slow economic growth and high unemployment, which have not only cost him politically at home but weakened his hand on the international stage.
Although the president enjoys widespread popularity in Asia, his efforts to rebalance world trade have aroused suspicion in India and elsewhere. So has his tough talk on the outsourcing of U.S. jobs abroad.
"I want to be honest," Obama said at a business summit here with U.S. and Indian executives. "There are many Americans whose only experience with trade and globalization has been a shuttered factory or a job that was shipped overseas."
As for India, he added, the perception in the U.S. is it's "a land of call centers and back offices."
Obama called this an "old stereotype," noting that it ignores billions of dollars invested by Indian companies in the United States and the partnerships between U.S. firms and Indian entrepreneurs that are developing India's countryside.
