The following article originally appeared in Mint on January 20, 2017.
With Donald Trump taking over as US President from Barack
Obama, what legacy does he inherit? How could the change in administration in
Washington affect India, directly or indirectly?
Bilateral Issues
Immigration: Trump campaigned on anti-immigration
sentiment, but sometimes tried to make an exception for high-skilled
immigration, which includes the H-1B visa programme that benefits Indian IT
professionals. There is also considerable hostility to H-1Bs in the US
Congress, among both Republicans and Democrats. On the other hand, Indian
companies and Silicon Valley will continue to lobby in favour of the programme
at the current level. We might see a moderate scaling back of high-skilled
immigration under Trump.
Investment: Trump’s ‘America First’ economic approach,
which has included using social media to call out major US multinationals that
were planning on taking manufacturing abroad, will conflict directly with
Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign. We may see some companies becoming reluctant
to move operations overseas, particularly manufacturing. But several
multinationals, particularly in services, have already made plans to expand
their Indian operations significantly. We can expect this to become a sore
point, but not necessarily an unmanageable one.
Defence trade: This is an area that has seen a
significant expansion over the past few years. While defence technology
transfers may become more difficult, or at least a lower priority with the
departure of secretary of defence Ashton Carter, the new administration should
have no problem with India buying American arms off the shelf. While
potentially useful in some areas, this will complicate India’s quest for
defence technological self-sufficiency.
Regional issues
Afghanistan and Pakistan: Afghanistan received
surprisingly little attention during Trump’s campaign and his Pakistan policy
remains somewhat uncertain. While Trump and his advisors have promised to take
a tougher approach to terrorism and have been critical of Pakistan’s
double-dealing, the amount of attention and resources they would be willing to
devote to the continuing Afghan War is uncertain.
China: Trump has promised a more confrontational
diplomatic and military approach to China, while scaling back economic
involvement in the region, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership that
excluded both China and India. These steps will not be wholly unwelcome in New
Delhi, but an unmanageable military or economic conflict between Beijing and
Washington would benefit no one, and certainly not India.
The Indian Ocean: The Indian Ocean is becoming more
contested, and while the US does have a permanent presence, there remain
opportunities for India to play a bigger role. If India is able to sell itself
as a country willing to share the burden of maritime security, that should
resonate well with the new White House, just as it did with the old one.
Iran: The Iran nuclear agreement was one of Obama’s
biggest breakthroughs, and one New Delhi welcomed. It enabled the lifting of
international sanctions against Tehran, allowing India to access Iran’s energy
resources and resume its investments in the Chabahar port project.
While Trump has spoken of walking back on the Iran deal,
it is unlikely to make much of a difference for India. Other actors—notably Europe—will
probably not follow suit in imposing sanctions on Iran if Tehran has not
violated the deal. This would alleviate pressure on India to follow suit.
Global affairs
Climate Change: In contrast with the Obama
administration, climate change is unlikely to be a high American priority under
Trump. But a decrease in government-to-government cooperation does not
necessarily prevent India from securing cooperation and technology transfers
from the US private sector on renewables.
Terrorism: Trump has talked tough on terror. One of the
biggest developments in India-US relations since the 2008 Mumbai attacks has
been deeper counter-terrorism cooperation. We can expect this to continue, and
intensify.
Global governance: Multilateral affairs and changes to global
governance, whether at the UN or non-proliferation regimes, are unlikely to be
high priorities under Trump. India had a window of opportunity to gain
membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group at the tail end of the Obama years,
but it will now have to wait a few years more.