U.S. Deals in India Climb to $4 Billion

NEW DELHI â€”  U.S. Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown announced 10 new deals for American companies Tuesday, bringing to $4 billion the value of business arrangements reaped during his trade mission to India.

Brown said additional agreements worth another $12 billion are being pursued by U.S. companies. “We feel this is just scratching the surface, the tip of the iceberg,� he said in remarks preceding a signing ceremony.

The $2.6 billion worth of power, telecommunications, petrochemical and medical services contracts were secured in addition to deals worth about $1.4 billion that were signed the previous day.

“I am absolutely exhilarated,� Brown told reporters after a 90-minute meeting with Indian Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao.

“I think there is a sea change in the commercial relationship between our two countries,� Brown said. “We are entering a new era in the Indo-American relationship.�

Brown delivered a message to Rao from President Clinton, who said he wants to work with Rao to protect the United States’ position as India’s main trading partner, an Indian government spokesman said.

Brown said Rao told him that India’s 3-year-old free-market reforms, which have begun attracting modest amounts of U.S. and other foreign investment, are irreversible. “He made an absolute, unequivocal commitment to a continuation of the economic reform process,� Brown said.

Brown, who has headed the largest U.S. trade and investment mission, said Rao responded positively to a suggestion, backed by U.S. big business, that India open its financial services and insurance industries to outside companies.

More than two dozen executives accompanying Brown urged Finance Minister Manmohan Singh, architect of India’s economic changes, to push for tariff cuts, stronger protection for copyrights and patents, and easier foreign access to banking and insurance interests.