New Delhi: There are very minimal licence requirements for India and the United States treats the country "as though our NATO partner under our export controls," a senior Biden Administration official said on Friday and noted that the requirement of licence for US exports to India has drastically come down over the past 25 years.

Thea D Rozman Kendler, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration, said at a media interaction here on Friday that India, as a major defence partner, does receive benefits under the US system that other countries do not receive.

She said there is a licence exception available for some trade items from the United States that Indian companies and US exporters do not seem to be using very much.

Kendler said strategic trade dialogue and shared commitment to export controls pave the way for hi-tech cooperation between the two countries.

"Very minimal licence requirements for India. We treat India as though our NATO partner under our export controls and we understand that there are items that could move more efficiently and smoothly from the United States to India," she said.

"The one thing that we have talked about quite a bit is that there is a licence exception available for some trade from the United States to India that Indian companies and US exporters don't seem to be using very much. So we want to make sure that Indian companies and US exporters are educated on this exception so that trade can move more smoothly without the holdups of licence applications," she said.

"Our partnership is long and progress has been steady. If you compare 25 years ago, in 1998, one-quarter of US exports to India required an export licence from the US government. Now 25 years later, only 0.5 per cent of US exports to India require a licence. We are here today because India has established strategic trade laws, effectively implementing regulations. Robust strategic trade controls enable us to share technology that we can't share with others," she added.

She said it "is such a consequential time for India-US relations".

Kendler, who is in India to build on the momentum of US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo's visit to India last month, said the two countries share a common security outlook which makes cooperation much easier.

During her five-day visit, Kendler met Indian government officials and industry representatives to discuss dual-use export controls issues.

She also engaged in final planning for the US-India Strategic Trade Dialogue (USISTD), the first meeting of which is slated to be held in Washington next month.

Kendler said USISTD provides a building block for the initiative on critical and emerging technologies (iCET).

"And through the iCET, our national security advisors agreed on the need to foster open, accessible and secure trade. And not just secure trade, but secure tech ecosystem based on mutual trust and confidence... Export controls provide that foundation or building block to protect global peace and security, not unduly interfering with commercial commerce. India's accomplishments in the realm of strategic trade controls and high-tech trade help undergird our shared security objectives," she said.

"The partnership between the United States and India continues to grow and I think we are in a new stage in our relationship where we see tremendous opportunity in closer relationship and hope that through our new dialogue we can explore ways of enhancing hi-tech commerce," she added.

The US official said the purpose of having industry meetings was to learn about the technical system that India is fostering and the challenges that Indian companies face with respect to strategic trade.

"We talked about out mechanisms under the US strategic trade control systems, under our export control systems available to Indian industry that are designed to facilitate faster and more efficient trade. "

Answering a query concerning the discovery of Lithium in Jammu and Kashmir, Kendler said the US wants to work with its partners across the board on technology and materials that are used for high technology.

"I don't have anything specific to say on Lithium but it is certainly the case that we would want to cooperate with India across the board when it comes not just to technology itself, but materials used for technologies. We are excited with cooperation with the government of India across the board. There are areas where we can cooperate on innovating new technologies," she said.

During Gina Raimondo's visit to India last month, India and US signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a Semiconductor Sub-Committee under the Commercial Dialogue between the two countries.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Secretary Raimondo launched "strategic trade dialogue" to address export controls, explore ways of enhancing high technology commerce, and facilitate technology transfer between the two countries.

In a joint statement, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Secretary Raimondo had welcomed the US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET), which elevates and expands the strategic technology partnership between the governments, businesses, and academic institutions of our two countries.

They noted the importance of coordinating with the standing mechanism established by the two governments under iCET, which aims to address regulatory barriers and other issues that impede smooth economic and commercial ties.

Both sides recognized the need for increased bilateral strategic and high technology trade and collaboration given the shared priority of building resilient and trusted global supply chains and the mutual interest in taking forward the outcomes of iCET.

The two leaders had announced the launch of a new Working Group on Talent, Innovation and Inclusive Growth under the Commercial Dialogue that would also support efforts under iCET, particularly in identifying specific regulatory hurdles to cooperation and fostering greater connectivity between our innovation ecosystem.

President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the U.S.-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) in May 2022 to elevate and expand our strategic technology partnership and defence industrial cooperation between the governments, businesses, and academic institutions of two countries.

NSA Ajit Doval and his US counterpart Jake Sullivan led the inaugural meeting of the iCET in Washington in January this year.