The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) released a set of priorities outlining specific steps the U.S. and Indian governments should take to ensure productive outcomes from upcoming dialogues and engagements, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s U.S. visit in June.

The document provides a set of deliverables that, if achieved, would represent progress toward addressing longstanding commercial barriers that U.S. manufacturers have faced in India, according to NAM. It would also move India forward on the promises that Prime Minister Modi has made in his first two years in office, the organization said.

“It is important for manufacturers in America that the upcoming U.S.–India engagements produce actual change and progress,” said Linda Dempsey, NAM’s vice president of international economic affairs. “To help facilitate that real progress, we are releasing our recommendations for detailed solutions, which we hope will increase the effectiveness of these talks.”

In the priorities document released by NAM, the organization urges both countries, at this year’s bilateral dialogues, to pursue manufacturing policies “promote manufacturing investment, from trade

liberalization and strong innovation and intellectual property policies to policies that promote global competitiveness of producers in the market regardless of nationality…”

NAM also encourages both governments “to strengthen further private sector participation in these dialogues.” The organization also urges progress on tariffs and trade facilitation and asks that, at a minimum, “India commit to eliminate immediately any tariffs on products covered by the original Information Technology Agreement (ITA) to which India is a signatory…”

Stakeholders in both the United States and India can benefit from policies that promote more open markets, eliminate discriminatory barriers, and strengthen intellectual property protection, Dempsey added. “Progress on these issues is needed to foster a stronger, more productive and mutually beneficial commercial relationship between the two countries,” she said, “and pave the way to innovation and new economic opportunities.”