India could strike a small trade deal with US soon: Taranjit Singh Sandhu

New Delhi
Indian Ambassador to the United States Taranjit Singh Sandhu is hopeful of a mini trade deal with the US even in the closing months of the current administration and despite the disappointments of the last few months.

Speaking at a webinar, the Indian envoy said the restoration of cuts in the H-1B and the L-1 visas continues to be his mission’s top priority.

Sandhu, who took over as the Indian envoy in January this year after the then incumbent Harsh Vardhan Shringla moved over to Delhi as the Foreign Secretary, said he had written to all principals of the top US universities to inform them about the Indian government’s decision to allow them to set up campuses in the country.

“A mini trade deal is very important. It is one of the areas under discussion. We are very keen. It is a work in progress, perhaps in its final stages,” he said while advising an Indian importer of sophisticated medical devices to put pressure on the US Trade Representative.

The envoy said the Indian diplomats had been approaching the US Senators and Representatives to point out that Indians, who had arrived on H-1B and L-1 visas, had brought with them important skill sets and bridged technological gaps that made US companies globally competitive.

“With innovation and technology leading the path to post-pandemic economic recovery, their role (in the US) becomes even more significant. We have been raising it with the US and will continue to do that. It is a developing situation,” he said while indicating the decision to clamp down on the visas was more of a political decision than one that had economic merit. “We are hopeful,” he added.

Drawing on his experience of the past five COVID-hit months, the envoy said every TV discussion in the US had doctors who were Indian Americans which “sends a significant signal”.

In recent weeks, Sandhu has been hopeful of an Indo-US mini trade deal but the pandemic has been a distraction for both sides. He indicated that the US should temporarily shelve its reservations about India’s e-commerce policy because, at the end of the exercise, New Delhi would attempt to address the concerns of all stakeholders.

India and the US have been discussing a limited trade deal since September last year when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the US.