An unpredictable voyage

Why in news?

Indian Prime Minister will be on the most hazardous journey of his political-diplomatic life towards the end of June for his maiden encounter with U.S. President Donald Trump.

How does trump policy affects/favours India?

• Foremost among them was an indication that he would follow a policy of containment against China, in contrast to his predecessor Barack Obama’s policy of calibrated cooperation.
• But the moment the North Korea crisis became critical, he embraced China.
• Another straw in the wind was Mr. Trump’s extreme antagonism towards the Islamic world, which found expression in the travel ban against designated countries.
• The stated reason for the ban was terrorism, but the worst exporters of terrorism, like Pakistan, were excluded.
• Further, another tranche of reimbursement was made to Pakistan for fighting terror in Afghanistan.
• Mr. Trump’s business interests in India were another reason for optimism.
• But his ‘America first’ approach may well contradict Mr. Modi’s ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’ initiatives.
• Mr. Trump’s goodwill towards India was to be his policy on the information technology (IT) industry, but it has failed because of the restrictions he has imposed on H-1B visas.
• Replacing Indian IT professionals with American ones will only hurt the U.S.’s business interests.
• Mr. Modi is expected to seek a reinstatement of Mr. Obama’s architecture on India-U.S. relations, an edifice Mr. Trump is determined to demolish.
• Trump did not spare India even while disowning the Paris Agreement on climate change as he said that one reason for his decision was that India was demanding “billions and billions and billions” of dollars to implement the pact.

Source: The Hindu