Will Donald Trump’s Comeback Benefit Or Pose A Challenge To India?

New Delhi: Even as Donald Trump is all set to be the 47th President of the United States, there is rising concern about how his coming to power will impact India. According to Adrian Mowat, an investor in Hong Kong SAR, India might benefit from Trump’s return to the White House, primarily, because of the fresh tariffs on China that he has already promised. This may encourage more businesses to shift their manufacturing from China to India, CNBC reported.

However, Mowat warned that Trump may impose similar tariffs on US companies that have many IT employees in India.

As a candidate, Trump has been clear that he intends to revamp US foreign policy, focusing on “America First” principles. Foreign Minister S Jaishankar recently said the US is very likely to become more isolationist regardless of who wins between Trump and Kamala Harris.

During his first term, Trump imposed stricter regulations on H-1B visas, leading to a significant rise in denial rates for both H-1B and L-1 visas. This had an impact on domestic IT service companies, which were especially reliant on these visas at the time. These measures, if reintroduced, could affect the Indian talent pool in the US and influence tech firms that rely on skilled Indian workers, according to NDTV.

“For Trump, I think there will be some difficult negotiations over trade and immigration, although on many other issues, he has spoken about a very positive relationship with India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Jaishankar told news agency PTI.

Trump’s last term also saw the elevation of the Quad – an alliance between the US, India, Japan, and Australia aimed at counterbalancing China. A renewed Trump administration could see further defence cooperation, with continued arms sales, technology transfers, and joint military exercises.