Trump’s mixed statements add to uncertainty among professionals, trade

Chennai: US President Donald Trump’s mixed statements on visa policy, immigration and trade tariffs have added to the uncertainty among professionals and the trade while leaving them confused. However, they believe that Trump could be trying to put more pressure on India by giving mixed statements.

While taking over the presidency of the US, Trump had warned the BRICS nation, which includes India, that he would impose a 100 per cent tariff on imports if they continued their de-dollarising efforts and went ahead with settling trade in local currencies.

However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in his first bilateral engagement with external affairs minister S Jaishankar discussed a wide range of topics, including regional issues and opportunities to further deepen the US-India relationship, in particular on critical and emerging technologies, defence cooperation, energy, and on advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

These developments have increased the confusion and uncertainty within the trade.

“The return of Donald Trump has created a lot of uncertainty. These statements have added to the uncertainty,” said Ajay Sahai, director general, FIEO.

“However, while reading between the lines, the warning to the BRICS nations in general was particularly meant for China and Brazil. Rupee settlement in the BRICS trade is miniscule. However, Chinese currency accounts for 15 per cent of the global trade and China and Brazil are largely trading in the local currencies. Nevertheless, the statements are intended to put India in the defensive mode and get India to the negotiating table in terms of tariffs, concessions and imports,” he said.

Trump also made a tough statement on illegal immigration and announced the end of citizenship by birth for children of temporary visa holders, including H1-B and L1 visas as well as dependent visas (H4).

However, the next day Trump stated that he supported H1-B visas for “competent” people not only in the tech industry but also for other jobs. Indian nationals account for nearly 75 per cent of the 386,000 H-1B visas issued in 2023.

“With the Trump administration’s policies, particularly regarding H-1B visa regulations, the global talent landscape has shifted notably. While the administration emphasized domestic job creation, tighter visa restrictions have reduced opportunities for highly skilled professionals from other countries to enter the U.S. However, Trump highlighting that the administration is looking forward to welcoming highly skilled people in the country to drive innovation, this presents India with a unique opportunity to step up as a key supplier of skilled labour,” said Dhriti Prasanna Mahanta, Vice-President, TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship.�