Chennai,Feb 21 (PTI) The US today said commercial relations between India and the country are 'hindered' by the reality of India's infrastructure not keeping pace with growth,as growing congestion in Indian ports results in "lost opportunities." The US Under Secretary for International Trade,Francisco Sanchez,said India's infrastructure 'unfortunately' was not keeping pace with its growth which meant it is not as competitive as it could be. "Certainly,commercial relations between our two countries are hindered by this reality. In 2011 bilateral trade in merchandise goods between India and the United States was nearly USD 58 billion. This is up from roughly USD 49 billion in 2010," he said in his address at the a seminar on "Indo-US Partnership in Indian Ports and Maritime Sector" here. While increase in trade was "clearly a good thing," there is potential for much more,he said,adding obstacles "holding us back is insufficient infrastructure along the coastline." Sanchez said though Indian ports have experienced growing traffic in recent years,capacity has not increased,resulting in congestion at ports and costly delays. "This means lost opportunities," he said. While coastal shipping accounts for about 40 per cent of trade volume in US,China and Europe,it is only seven per cent of India's total domestic cargo transport network,he said "I understand that the government is encouraging private sector participation in port development. And I was also glad to see last year's announcement to commit USD 66 billion for the port sector and USD 27 billion for the shipping sector," he said.
