India-US Ties To Remain Steady Despite Trump Victory

New Delhi: Studies, jobs and business are the main worry of Indians after the victory of Donald Trump in the US elections.

India-US ties will remain steady even after the new government in America, US consul general Catherine Hadda said here on Wednesday . Speaking to reporters, Hadda said there is widespread bi-partisan support for the ties and growth in this relation for the last two years. “We now have 30 to 40 high-level working groups on topics such as climate change, economic cooperation and defence trade,“ she said.

Armed with IT degrees, a large number of Telugus have settled in the US in the last several years. According to an estimate, there are as many as three lakh Telugu-speaking people there. Some of them have even started their own companies. Trump had to reach out to Indians settled there because of their numerical strength and influence in business and IT sector. Nearly a lakh students apply for visa but last year, only 4,000 students got it.

“It is true that he raised the issue of jobs for Americans but the fact remains that the US needs skilled workforce. So, if Indians are qualified and can meet the need, they cannot be ignored,“ said an IT professional who lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

“However, the question now is how many would want to go and study there if it is not possible to settle down there,“ he said. During the run-up to the elections, Trump had talked about making sure Americans do not lose jobs. Until Trump settles down in office and lays down policies, students planning to find jobs in the US after their studies might put their plans on hold, the education consultant said.

The Federation of Telangana and AP Chambers of Commerce and Industry's deputy director Tadepalli Sujatha said that the huge taxation that Trump said he would introduce for expats would badly affect the Indian community. Since Trump is against outsourcing, Sujatha said that the IT sector could be adversely affected in Hyderabad. One major area of concern is that students who go to the US and do odd jobs will suffer if strict measures are taken barring them from doing so.

Poll analysts, however, think it would be America's loss if Donald Trump were to implement all his `poll rhetoric'. “America benefits from India in many ways. US companies are allowed to invest in India. It would be too narrow for an US President to think of not allowing jobs to people from other countries,“ said Surendra Kumar, president of Indo-American Friendship Association. “ As a bizman and now President, Trump, I hope, will know how to see that it would be a win-win situation for both the countries,“ he said.

“It is very difficult to implement this but we will see how it turns out,“ he said. Dasari, who has been living in the US for the last 20 years, added that qualified people with skills could still get jobs in the US.