August 24, 2020: The US and India have always had a relationship based on strategic partnerships both in good and adverse situations. The US-India relationship also has its fair share of challenges, differences, and issues that they grapple with. The question in the hearts and minds of many is how the upcoming US presidential election will affect US-India relations. Presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton for the Democrats and Donald Trump for the Republicans, and their perceptions of India sheds some light on the impact of the election on US-India relations.
Recently, the US witnessed a magnificent political event on the arrival of India Prime Minister ‘Narendra Modi’ named “Howdy Modi” and India also welcomed the US President Donald Trump with an amazing show named “Namaste Trump”, it can be assumed that the forthcoming India-US relations will see a splendid phase. So, what would Trump’s victory spark for the future of India-US relations? What if Biden wins US elections? Here’s the answer to both questions;
While both candidates have said far less concerning India, Trump is on record for his controversial stand on the crackdown on H1B visas and immigration, which is an employment concern for the Indian workers and the economy as well. Even so, Trump also acknowledges the value of closely involving India in the implementation of US foreign policy in Asia, particularly in South Asia. As for Hillary Clinton, she equally enjoys popularity in India for her long-standing support to India and fighting terrorism in the India-Pakistani standoff.
Previous trade deals between India and the USA have been highlighted and marked as ‘disadvantage’ due to the negative influence on the prevailing decline of the middle-class and stable economy in the US by the candidates. None of them has come out favoring the deals. Apparently, from the democratic party perspective, India has a chance of losing the game as the democrats have long been against the movement of goods, capital, international trade, and labor outsourcing from other countries. On the other hand, the republicans have always endorsed foreign trade policies.
Biden has also made promises to US-Indians as he said about the USA immigration policies. Here is what Biden’s victory will add to US-India relations?
Biden’s manifesto reveals that he will reform the temporary visa system for highly skilled Indians. It will be replaced with a wage-based recruiting process to initiate mechanisms to make sure that they are aligned with the labor market.
In case the Democratic nominee wins and adheres to his manifesto, then he could retain the damage that Trump’s H1 visa ban and the Green Card suspension had done to Indian-Americans.
At present, the total annual cap on Green Card for Indians is 20,000 which has resulted in a long wait and decreasing highly skilled talent.
Biden also promised a recent cap from Ph.D. programs in STEM fields in the United States. He says “it is going to witness some of the most important contributions to the global economy”.
According to Ramakrishnan, there are nearly 1.8 million eligible Indian-American voters in the US, and they are present in sufficiently large numbers in at least six swing states – including Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Florida — to make a difference to the final outcome.
They could be a factor even in traditional Red states such as Texas and Georgia — which some polls indicate could also be in play – given their relatively large numbers there.
Future India-US relations solely depend on the result of the US presidential election. They matter greatly for the future of the USA as well because India is a developing country and an emerging superpower. Time what the future will be. The result of US elections will predict the future of US-India relations.
