Express View on S Jaishankar’s US visit: India should reap benefits with Trump 2.0 by embracing trade reform
Amid the announcements of sweeping policy changes during the first week of President Donald Trump’s second term, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to the United States — his second within the span of a month — signals continuity in India-US relations. Jaishankar met with senior members of the outgoing Biden administration in late December in Washington, while outgoing National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan visited India in January. Jaishankar’s two trips to Washington reflect India’s recognition of the importance of its relationship with the US and the necessity of managing it prudently amid global turbulence. After he attended Trump’s inauguration, Jaishankar held bilateral talks with NSA Michael Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the QUAD Foreign Ministers’ meeting. While all this points towards a resilient engagement, some matters merit close attention.
The elephant in the room is the H-1B visa issue, within the larger and ongoing debate over immigration in the US. Speaking to reporters in Washington, Jaishankar emphasised that India is willing to take back illegal Indian immigrants, provided that their Indian origin is verified. With respect to legal migration, both India and the US have expressed their willingness to work towards reciprocal gains. While Trump has expressed the need for “competent people” in the US, in an attempt perhaps to assuage concerns raised by his executive order on birthright citizenship, Jaishankar has underscored that “Indian talent and Indian skills” deserve “maximum opportunity at the global level”. The question of whether foreign talent depresses wages and causes job displacement for the American people is an issue that the US is likely to continue to wrestle with internally. Delhi can only hope that the outcome ultimately aligns with India’s interests.
With Trump, India’s primary challenge in the past has been trade. The Modi government, in anticipation of potentially raised tariffs, is reportedly considering measures such as recalibrating its own duties and increasing imports from the US. However, tinkering with the import-export balance may provide only a short-term fix. In the long term, India must focus on reforming its trade policies and deepening its economic ties with the US. Despite Trump’s threats, the US remains one of the world’s most open economies, second only to China. India must embrace trade reform rather than resisting it. Furthermore, America is arguably on the cusp of a technological revolution, driven by Artificial Intelligence and other sectors. India must act swiftly to implement its own technological reforms, modernise outdated laws, and position itself competitively within the global ecosystem. The Biden Administration strengthened bilateral relations, and India should reap the benefits with Trump 2.0, by ensuring that it remains aligned with the challenges of the changing global economic and technological landscape.